Of Strings and Theories and Trampolines
by ClasseySpanks
Summary: Sometimes the most formidable wrinkle in a plan to dominate the universe turns out to be 5'2", slightly far-sighted, and just come into the weirdest effin' power ever. Infinity Gems Story, Eventual Shieldshock Note: Rating changed to M
1. Chapter 1

"Stay," he said setting her down in the area with the least amount of rubble.

Darcy winced at the destruction around her and slid down the brick wall at her back to wrap her arms around her knees. Thor turned away from her and hesitated, his face grimaced in uncertainty.

"It has been an honor to know you, Lady Darcy. May we pass each other in the fields of Folkvangr."

He swung Mjolnir into the air and was gone. Darcy lifted a shaking hand to her bleeding lip to staunch the flow and rested her head back against the wall.

 _What the fuck... I'm 24 and I'm going to die... Likely by laser beam from a bedazzled glove...what the everlasting fuck._

She had only been in New York three weeks but apparently that was enough time to get front row seats to the end of the world. She closed her eyes tight as if to ward off the replay of the carnage Thor had promptly taken her away from... Hawkeye's broken bow and the hand that had once held it extended from under a mass of concrete... the crushed armor of Tony Stark red blood seeping between the joints... Vision's lifeless form crumpled where that creature had dropped it after it pried the stone from his brow.

The Avengers had seemed so invincible to her. She had seen Thor destroy galactic threats on his own and when you added the others... to see them so thoroughly decimated... it was as if her brain couldn't even comprehend it. All she had wanted to do was go to graduate school, live on the east coast, and maybe just once get to see Captain America's pectorals in real life.

 _I guess those all came true... sorta._

She had caught a brief glimpse of the man just before Thor spotted her and pulled her to safety. It was amazing Captain Rogers was still standing, the only others left alive to fight that giant purple dick being Thor, Dr. Strange, and a man Thor called Loki. She scoffed and swiped at the tears that started to seep from her eyes.

 _And you_ _... running toward the danger like you could actually help the Avengers._

She peered around the corner, unable to help herself and immediately ducked back into her protective area as a forceful explosion careened her way. The wall above her exploded, showering glass and rubble on top of her. Amazingly, the structure that sheltered Darcy somehow remained intact and she lifted her face, coughing into the dust that burned her throat and eyes. When it started to settle she chanced a look around, horrified to see a familiar red cape.

"No, no, no, no, no," she muttered, her voice sounding small and tinny in her ears as she crawled forward on her hands and knees. Carefully she started to remove the debris from Thor's face, his eyes closed and body unmoving. She leaned in and hearing no breathing, reached down to check the pulse in his neck.

 _Nothing._

A strangle sound erupted from her throat and she rested her head on his chest, despair-undiluted and sharp- washing over her. They were all going to die...not just the rest of the Avengers and herself but everyone all over earth. How, she wondered, how could one creature do all this to the "Earth's Mightiest Heroes"? Her eyes narrowed as she recalled the glove. It all seemed to stem from that golden, ostentatious, Donald Trump inspired looking piece of metal on his hand. Several more explosions rocked the unstable roof above them, sending more debris showering them from above. Darcy moved to cover Thor's body as best she could, a righteous anger at her absolute impotence burning deep within her. She wished she had any way, any means to help... All she had ever wanted to do was help.

A flash of silver caught her eye as she reached up to wipe the dust from her face. She put back on her glasses and there it was...

"Mew mew," she breathed out, a small flicker of hope igniting in her chest. If she could get the hammer to Captain America, Doctor Strange, or even that other guy... maybe they could use it to defeat that.. thing. She took a last look at her friend, her face steeling into one of determination. She stood and ran towards the hammer, an urgent voice within her whispering that she had to move and move now. As her fingertips wrapped around the braided handle, she felt an electric pulse travel up her arm and she braced her legs to lift the heavy object unsure if she would even be able. To her surprise, it lifted easily feeling like little more than a paperweight in her hand.

 _You don't have time to think. Just go._

Heart hammering in her chest, she sprinted from the collapsing building hoping that her last act on Earth would be one that she would be proud of... and maybe, if she was very lucky, not too terribly painful. The electrical pulse that started in her arm spread over her entire body as she ran at a speed that felt impossibly fast, her mind chalking it up to an adrenaline burst from her body knowing this was likely the end. As she approached the crater that was now downtown Manhattan, her vision seemed sharper and she could see across the great expanse to where Doctor Strange was lifting himself again to his feet, blood trickling from a gash in his forehead. Closer, the gigantic purple guy with the glove stood with his back to her, his hand wrapped around Captain America's throat. As he started to crush life from him, he lifted that golden monstrosity on his other hand, aiming it towards the captain's face. There was no time...

 _Well,_ she thought, _saving Captain America isn't a terrible way to die._

She quickly envisioned meeting God, him frowning down at her as he unfurled the scroll of all her acts on Earth and her smiling as she pointed out the one in big bold letters that said "Saved Steve Rogers From Purple Dildo Monster". The ridiculous picture gave her the courage to leap into the air, somehow knowing she would make the great distance with the help of Mijolnir. Time seemed to slow as she brought the hammer down as hard as she could, catching the two most inner of the jewels on the glove. Shards of green and blue exploded from underneath the hammer and she closed her eyes against them. The handle of Thor's prized possession slipped from her fingers as a sudden pull at her navel had her hurdling backwards. She braced herself waiting for the end, waiting for the nothing to take over.

A few seconds later, when she was still flying, she opened her eyes.

And screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

_Holy Shit. Holy Shit. Holy Shit._

It was pretty much the only thought she had been capable of for the past few hours. When she had opened her eyes she had found herself hurtling through... well she couldn't really describe it except to say it was even worse than that one time she tried acid as a Freshmen. Colors and forms spun and broke before her, galaxies swirled around her, and her own body looked to be nothing more than smoke and shade. And then when she thought it would never end, she found herself sitting on her futon in an apartment she hadn't been in for over half a year. And now she was curled in the fetal position on her crappy sofa/bed, back in New Mexico, in the apartment she had moved out of that was still furnished with her things that were supposed to be sitting in her shitty basement rental in Queens. Her stomach lurched.

 _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

After thirty more minutes she had done enough deep breathing and calming mantras to take the throw off her head. She smoothed out her hair and looked around still disbelieving her eyes, and snatched her phone from where it was plugged in on her end table. The phone clattered to the ground as the date on its cover confirmed her suspicions.

 _Six months._

Was she crazy? Had she lost her mind? Moving across country, starting graduate school, the end of the world...was it all just an insanely detailed, lucid dream?

Darcy ran her hand through her long hair and pressed her fingers to her temples.

 _Okay. Step one. Get out of bed._

Taking a deep breath, she swung her legs out, pushed herself up to plant her feet on the ground, and felt nothing. Shock stole her voice as she fell through the floor. Unlike last time, this fall was not long at all and she bounced onto a semi soft surface... the futon she had just tried to get off of. She blinked, wondering if she had just had a seizure, or her brain was short circuiting under all the stress of her situation. She swung her legs out again and sighed in relief as they connected with poorly installed laminate wood. She snatched her phone from the floor and padded barefoot to her kitchen. She made it about five feet when her foot caught on something and she stumbled, falling forward on to her hands. She scowled and rolled herself over to see which of her possessions was soon to be thrown against a wall and froze.

Her right foot appeared to have sunk through the floor and was not visible from the calf down. Heart thudding wildly, she wiggled her toes and was relieved to still feel them. She was not as relieved, however, when movement above her caught her eye and her jaw dropped as she stared at her own foot dangling ten feet above her. She pointed her toes and gasped as the phantom limb in the ceiling did the same.

 _Oh God._

Slowly, she withdrew her leg and sighed as it came away whole, the ceiling now the same as it ever was.

'What the hell is happening to me?" she whispered. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she shakily dialed Jane's number, and slammed it on the ground in frustration as her voicemail picked up.

"Jane! I got sent back in time because the world was ending and I took Thor's hammer and now I'm back in New Mexico and I KEEP FALLING THROUGH THE FLOOR JANE! THE FUCKING FLOOR! I need your help, I don't know what's happening. Call me back as soon as you get this."

She hung up and laid back on the floor, too frightened to get up. After fifteen minutes, her phone rattled in her hand.

"Jane! Oh thank God."

"Darcy? Are you alright? Have you been in the lab and not using the hood vent again?"

"No, Jane, I'm not okay! I keep falling though the floor."

"What are you talking about?"

"Every time I try to get up, I fall though the ground and land back in the room."

"Darcy...I'm at a conference in LA. I'm going to call the police to go check on you."

"No! Jane, I... I just..." she swallowed heavily. "I don't know what to do," she finished in a whisper.

There was a long pause. "Just stay home. I'm going to get my stuff from the hotel and I'll be on the first flight out. Just... hang in there okay?"

Darcy snorted, "That is a very real possibility."

The line went dead as Jane hung up. After a few more minutes, on her hands and knees, Darcy crawled to the bathroom, her bladder no longer willing to be ignored.

 _Great. All I need now if for this weird shit to happen while my pants are around my ankles and get a concussion via toilet seat. Dying in an attempt to save Captain America, totally cool. This... not so much_.

Thankfully, she was able to pee without incident and even made it back to the futon. She tried to recall the events that lead to this moment, omitting the most painful ones from her recollection. She had brought the hammer down on the glove and two of the stones shattered, showering her in their fragments... and then she was flying through all space and time just to land on her futon and now this...

She drew her knees up to her chest, determined to not move until Jane arrived.

She lasted three hours before her stomach insisted she get up and go to the fridge. If there was ever a day she deserved ice cream, this was that god damn day. Luckily there was half a pint of cherry garcia frosted over in the freezer. Retrieving a spoon from the generic serving ware drawer, she pried open the top and made her way back to the living room. She screeched, dropping the carton as her feet lost their purchase and she fell through the floor and then through the ceiling. Her arms covered her eyes, waiting for the impact into the ground. A vibrating hum enveloped her body and the rapid descent halted. She hesitantly removed her arms from her face, terrified she was going to find herself on another galactic magical mystery tour.

Instead, her pint of cherry garcia floated in front of her, drips of its melting contents falling to the floor.

"Darcy Lewis," came a deep baritone at her left. She turned, eyes wide at the sight of Dr. Steven Strange in her cluttered living room, cape billowing behind him. His arm was outstretched towards her glowing with the magic that kept her afloat. He gave her a tight lipped smile in greeting.

"It seems we need to talk."


	3. Chapter 3

"Astral projection."

His words were met with a blank stare,.

"Come again?"

"It is how you remember what happened. I pushed both of our cosmic forms out of our bodies. I knew the infinity stone's response would be violent and immediate and this was how I maintained our consciousness of the event."

Darcy just blinked a few times before speaking, "You know, it's funny. All the words you're saying makes sense individually but not so much when you put them together like you have."

The doctor sighed and his face pinched in annoyance as he settled back into his chair.

"The Entity that attacked us, his name is Thanos and his singular goal is dominion over the universe. The most effective route is to control of the infinity stones. Each of these contain a specific but immense power. Those were the jewels on the back of his gauntlet and we.. we were less than effective against him. But then you assumed the power of the Asgardian and instead of Thanos, you chose to attack the stones. When you did this, they responded and all of us were caught in the wake. However, I was able to push out both of our astral projections and maintain our awareness. I'm hoping this is a second chance to prevent Thanos from gaining the stones and ultimate power once again."

"But I thought I destroyed two of them?" asked Darcy, her fingers digging into the futon cushion.

"No," he replied shaking his head. "Though Mijolnir is a mighty weapon, it cannot destroy the Infinity Stones. But it was enough to damage them. As a defense mechanism, the Time Stone reversed time to when it was no longer damaged and the space Stone moved itself through multiple dimensions. We were taken along for the ride."

"Are you sure?"

Strange nodded and touched the amulet on his chest. "The Time Stone resides here, undamaged and intact."

"So what does that have to do with what's happening to me now?"

His eyebrow raised, "You obviously did not escape the event unaffected but this has happened before. Wanda Maximoff gained her powers through interaction with one of the Infinity Stones, as did her brother. I assume you have likewise gained abilities from the time and space stones but to what extent I'm not entirely sure."

"So...you think I'll be able to control this? Eventually?"

He shrugged. "Perhaps."

"That's not very reassuring."

He gave her a small smile. "I have been told my bedside manner is lacking."

Darcy opened her mouth to speak but was nearly overwhelmed with the questions swirling through her mind. Finally, she settled on the most pressing.

"What do we do now?"

"Last time it took too long to assemble the Avengers so soon after they dissolved. I must take you to Captain Rogers in Wakanda. From there, I will try to mediate a reconciliation between his people and those that sided with Tony Stark. This will also give us time to figure out the full scope of your abilities and how they made aid us this time around."

Unable to come up with any objection, Darcy nervously rubbed her palms on her jeans. "Great. When do we leave?"

"Now, after you've packed your things, of course."

Darcy held up a hand, pleading.

"We have to wait for Jane. She thinks I've lost my mind and honestly she's only one who seems to understand things like this. Shes flying back here right now."

He waved his hand dismissively. "I will retrieve Dr. Foster as soon as she arrives but in the meantime you and I must leave. You've been touched by both the Time and Space Stones and I don't know how it's going to manifest. You may need their assistance. Now, please go pack."

Darcy reluctantly got up and went to the bedroom to sort through her clothes. She stood in front of her closet indecisive. What _does_ one pack for a life-altering, time-traveling space-bending adventure with superheroes?

She scowled. Half of her closet was over-sized sweaters and skinny jeans. She had a feeling those probably would not be the most practical wear in Wakanda. Still, after today what she wanted was familiarity and shoved several pieces into a duffel bag before retrieving some personal items. She returned to the living room to find Doctor Strange combing through her book collection. "Sylvia Plath," he started, "I expected. And JK Rowling seems to be a requirement for your generation. Quite surprised by Singer's 'Companion to Ethics' though.

"Are you literally judging a book by it's cover? Don't be so quick next time, Zoltar."

The doctor glanced down at his clothes and inclined his head. "Fair enough. Are you ready?"

"Like, on an emotional level?"

"No."

"Then yes, I am literally ready."

He came to stand by her side and extended the hand with a double barrel Golden Ring. The other made large repetitive circles in the air and she couldn't help but notice the deep, jagged criss-crossing scars that extended from his fingertips to dive beneath the sleeves at the wrist. She frowned and looked away. From the outside it always seemed as if being one of these meta-humans was a glamorous a life but the further into it she saw, the more it seemed they all had to pay in pounds of flesh. Her melancholy thoughts were distracted as a sparkling gold circle appeared before them, a beautifully maintained courtyard visualized on the other side.

The doctor motioned for her to step through the portal and it closed behind them. Darcy looked around wide eyed. Eight hours ago she was in the future in a destroyed New York, five seconds ago she was six months in the past in New Mexico, and now she was in Wakanda Africa She nervously readjusted her knit cap on her head and looked to Dr. Strange, waiting for instruction.

"We wait here. It won't be-" his words died off as they were suddenly surrounded by soldiers, all with weapons drawn and wearing uniforms bearing the flag of Wakanda.

"Oooookay," Darcy breathed out nervously, raising her hands to her head, her bag dropping to the floor. She felt Strange's hand grip her shoulder as if he was afraid she'd fall into the floor again.

"I seek an audience with King T'Challa," he said projecting his voice in the courtyard. "My name is Dr. Steven Strange and we mean no one any harm."

"I know who you are, Doctor," came a voice, melodically accented. Darcy glanced up to see a man on the balcony above them, his hands gripping the railing as he eyed the newcomers shrewdly.

"Your highness," greeted Strange and declined his head in a bow, his fingers digging into Darcy's shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, shit, right. Sorry," she murmured and fumbled in a wobbly curtsy. She heard Strange grunt in a mix of disbelief and exasperation. She straightened, her face burning and chanced a glance up at the balcony, having to push her glasses back up her nose to see the King. He looked less stern, his eyebrow raised in mild amusement before he spoke a few words in his native language and turned from the balcony.

Darcy and the doctor were led to a conference room, his hand still on her shoulder, only releasing her when she went to sit. After a few minutes, the door opened and King T'Challa and Steve Rogers entered, both their expressions appearing wary.

"Dr. Strange," started the King, taking the seat at the head of the table. Captain Rogers remained standing, his arms crossing over his chest as he leaned against the wall. His blue eyes flicked briefly over her and narrowed before returning to the other man. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"The Tesseract," said Strange, looking pointedly at Rogers and Darcy saw the man's jaw flex, "Loki's Septer, the Aether, and the Time Stone. Those are the Infinity Gems that I am aware of along with their locations. There are two others that are yet accounted for. You've seen what just one of these can do, Captain Rogers. Now imagine if a singular person managed to obtain them all. What would their power be? What would they not be able to do?"

The King and Captain exchanged looks, "We're listening."

"There is a alien named Thanos who seeks the infinity stones and if we do not stop him, he will be successful, and life as we know it will end."

"Where is this information coming from?"

The doctor scoffed lightly, "From myself. I have seen it. It already happened once and we have been given a second chance to prevent a universal apocalypse."

The captain frowned and rubbed his brow, "How did you see this? You had a vision?"

"No, I was there. So were you. Nearly all of us were killed and the battle lost until... something unexpected happened and time reset."

Captain Rogers sighed heavily, his hands moving to his hips, "Do you have any proof?"

The doctor smirked, turning his chair towards Darcy and gestured with his hand in her direction. Roger's lifted an eyebrow.

"And who are you?" He asked flatly.

Darcy bit her lip nervously and clasped her fingers in front of her on the table, "I am Darcy Lewis."

Dr. Strange clapped his hand back on her shoulder, "Gentlemen, meet the savior of the Universe."


	4. Chapter 4

"Gentlemen, meet the savior of the universe."

Darcy glared at Dr. Strange, not appreciating the hint of sarcasm in his introduction. "You could take it down a notch."

"Darcy Lewis," she heard the Captain repeat after a few seconds. "The one who worked with Jane Foster and Erik Selvig?"

Her glare forgotten, she looked back at Rogers, surprise coloring her features. "Yes. Still does, technically."

"You know Thor."

She was taken aback by the sudden want to see her friend, the need for something to wash away her last image of him dead and beaten on the ground. "Is he here?" she asked, leaning forward over the table, unable to keep the plea from her voice.

"He has not been seen since Solkovia," spoke up T'challa and Darcy slumped back in her seat. She glanced up at the Captain, his expression more curious than hostile now.

"So how did you save the Universe?"

She folded her arms over her chest, "I used Mew Mew to smash the jewels on the back of that jerk's glove and they Quantum Leaped me back here. Now you guys get to set right what once went wrong."

T'Challa and the Captain exchanged confused looks as Strange rolled his eyes.

"She used Mjolnir to fracture the Time and Space Stones," he said, stretching his hand out on the table for emphasis. "Time was reversed so the stones could repair themselves and we were sent back with it. Ms. Lewis and I retained our memory of the event because I projected us into the non physical realm."

Captain Rogers stepped forward, his hand gripping the back of the chair before him. "You," he asked, directing his question at Darcy, "lifted Mjolnir?"

She sat up straighter at the skepticism in his voice and her eyes darted around the room, "Yea," she said, her head tilting to imply this wasn't a big deal.

The wariness returned to his expression and Darcy came to the conclusion he didn't particularly believe her.

"Your story is interesting, but you implied that she was proof of this encounter and not just a witness," said T'Challa.

"She has acquired new abilities from her interaction with the Infinity Stones."

The Captain's knuckles whitened as they tightened on the chair, "What can you do?"

Darcy snorted, amused by Strange's referral to her new adversarial relationship with gravity as an 'ability'. "I can fall through the floor."

She smiled as Roger's face dropped its stern expression, instead adopting one similar to when a dog hears an unusual sound. Meanwhile, next to her, Strange pressed his fingers to his temple and gave a long suffering sigh before speaking. "She can fold space, creating portals that allow instantaneous travel between two points. At least that's what it appeared to be. Some experimentation will be required to determine the exact nature of her new talents. I intend to bring Dr. Foster here to help with the process as well as to support Darcy while she adjusts."

She blinked at his words, surprised by both his assessment and his consideration and he gave her a reassuring nod.

The two other men in the room seemed to converse with a look and after a moment King T'Challa stood.

"Very well. She may stay here for the time being. Will you be requiring accommodation as well, Dr. Strange?"

"No. I will return soon with Dr. Foster though and periodically after that to check on Ms. Lewis's progress, if that is acceptable, your Highness."

The King nodded his agreement and extended his arm. "Please, the Captain can show you to your quarters. Welcome to Wakanda, Ms. Lewis."

Darcy grabbed her bag and followed behind as they exited the room, somewhat reassured that Dr. Strange still accompanied her. They walked in silence, taking many halls and turns. She was just starting to relax when she stepped and felt no resistance, her body lurching forward. Something wrapped around her arm and kept her afloat She stared as the red cape of Dr. Strange lifted her back up before setting her down on solid ground and fell back to its master's side.

"Look at that. It likes you."

"Your cape... likes me?" she asked incredulously.

"Is that so hard to believe, Ms. Saved-the-World-with-a-Magical-Hammer-and-now-keeps-falling-though-invisible-holes-in-the-ground?" he deadpanned as if sentient capes were the most natural thing in the world.

Not really having any answer for that, Darcy started walking again.

"Portal?" asked Rogers, falling in beside her.

"Yep," she replied, looking up at him briefly and then to Dr. Strange who had moved up to flank her other side. She suspected they had done as much to catch her should she fall again. She wanted to laugh. Some "gift" this was that required two superhumans and a magical cloak to keep her from breaking her nose every couple of hours.

 _What an Avenger you'd make... what would my superhero name be? Face plant? Epistaxis?_

She tried to repress her smile and a small squeak of laughter escaped, causing the men at her sides to look at her oddly. At that moment, it all seemed to hit her at once. The grief she had felt, the confusion of her current situation, the absolute absurdity of it all...

She started to laugh uncontrollably, tears slipping from her eyes.

"Sorry, sorry," she said, holding up her hands as her laughs quieted down. She looked up to the others with her and started laughing again as they backed away.

 _Mightiest heroes on earth, indeed. Frightened of a womans emotions._

She cleared her throat and taking deep breath, kept walking. It wasn't long before they reached her room, and the Captain parted with a nod. Dr. Strange lingered.

"Darcy, I have no doubt you will be okay here but..." he said, his face serious, "if you ever fear for your safety, just leave. I'll find you and we'll sort it out later."

She nodded, touched by his concern. And with the click of a door jam, she was once again alone.


	5. Chapter 5

Steve waited at the end of the hall for Dr. Strange as he returned from Darcy's room.

"Thanos," he said as they started to walk. "Where is he?"

"Light years away. He will collect the Infinity Stones elsewhere first and then come to Earth for the final two. The Time Stone powers the Eye of Agamotto," replied Strange, touching his fingers to the amulet. "And I'm sure you are awere the Mind Stone provides sentience to The Vision."

Steve nodded. "The Tesseract was given to Thor for safekeeping on Asgard. I assume it is still there."

"The Space Stone," confirmed Strange.

"And the others? Any idea where they are?" asked Steve.

Strange sighed. "The Reality Stone, the Power Stone, and the Soul Stone... No, but I suspect the Asgardian does. As such, I think we should focus our efforts on contact with Thor Odinson as well as mending the divide between yourself and your former compatriots."

Steve let out a frustrated huff of air, his hand going to rub the back of his neck. "That's easier said than done."

"I will go myself and speak to Tony Stark, see if I can convince him. If nothing else, The Vision needs to be aware."

"What about the girl?"

"Miss Lewis?" asked Strange, eyebrow shooting up and he stopped walking. "She is definitely an unknown variable. Her involvement last time was brief but..." he paused, seeming to search for an appropriate word, "impactful."

"What is she? I need to know what I'm dealing with here."

"She is either very brave or very foolish," he started, "Or, if you and I are extraordinarily unlucky, an unholy combination of the two. But if you're referring to her abilities, I honestly don't know. I wasn't just saying that for her benefit. Maybe all she can do is fold space or maybe she can rip apart the entire fabric of our universe. It remains to be seen. I should think Dr. Foster the perfect guide, though, and Ms. Maximoff should be capable of containment, if need be."

Dr. Strange extended the arm with his sling ring, creating a portal.

"Strange," called Steve as the sorcerer stepped through and paused. "Tell Tony... tell him the family needs him."

Strange nodded briefly over his shoulder and the portal snapped shut behind him.

* * *

"You gotta be fucking kidding me!"

Darcy jerked awake from her bed, as the door to her bedroom slammed open, and she scrambled to reach for her glasses, heart racing.

She looked up to see Jane and her luggage in the doorway.

"Years and years of research... I even get invaded by one of those stupid infinity stones too but you get to be the one who can create Einstein-Rosen bridges at will."

"Hi ya, Janey."

The astrophysicist marched over to her friend, gathering her into a fierce hug.

"I'm so glad you're ok. Dr. Strange told me what happened but it all seems unreal." Jane pulled back, her hands on Darcy's shoulders. "And you saw it all."

Darcy nodded, taking in a shuddering breath. "Remember how I told you I was applying to graduate school in New York? Well, I got accepted, had moved, and even had started classes for a couple of weeks. Then one day we all heard explosions and people were shouting that it was another battle of New York. The school had started to evacuate but I slipped away thinking maybe I could help like you and I helped Thor. But," she paused, biting her lip. "But it was a massacre, Jane. They were all dead, even Thor. I didn't know what to do, I felt so helpless. And then there was his hammer and I figured if I could get it to somebody who knew how to use it, maybe it would help. but when I made it back to where they were fighting, that thing was about to kill Captain America so I did the only thing I could think of. I hit the infinity stones with a hammer, hoping I would though off his aim or something. .The next thing I know, I'm six months in the past and nearly every time I try to stand up, I would just fall and still land right back where I was. I don't know how else to explain it. It's fucking weird Jane."

Jane moved to seat herself on the bedspread next to Darcy. "Can you control it?"

"No, but I haven't really tried."

"Are you up for a little experimenting? King T'Challa has a lab set up for us. Even put an air mattress in there for you to land on," said Jane waggling her eyebrows as if this was an especially enticing offer.

Darcy laughed, grateful for Jane's bright enthusiasm on the subject.

"Ok, but a shower and breakfast first? I haven't eaten since yesterday, six months from now."

"Deal."

* * *

"I think," said Darcy, turning in a circle, "I saw something that looked like a kitchen on the way in... over there. Maybe. Hell, I'm lost."

They had been walking for twenty minutes without anything looking familiar to her.

"Where are we anyway? I know this is Wakanda, and I know who King T'Challa is but...this doesn't really look like a royal palace for monarchy this old," asked Jane, gesturing to the sleek and fairly modern design of the building they occupied.

"Its more of a compound," came a male voice echoing from the hall , "designed by the previous King as a base of military operations. It now functions as a home to disgraced former Avengers and a part time elementary school.

Darcy's eyes widened in recognition as the man approached with two young children flanking his sides.

"Clint Barton," he introduced himself, extending his hand to shake each of theirs. "Dr. Foster, Ms. Lewis. Glad to finally get to officially meet you. I was with the Shield team in New Mexico when Thor first arrived. And these guys are Lila and Cooper. Laura, my wife, has got the baby."

"We were just looking for food and getting hopelessly lost. Don't think you could point us in the right direction?"

"Kitchens are that way and to the left." He replied with a gesture then placed a hand on each of his children's backs to guide them forward. "Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta get these two to class."

They watched him go, Darcy having trouble reconciling the public images and videos of the man with the father she just saw walking his kids.

"You know, I never really saw any of them as having anything, well, normal."

"They're still people Darcy. Extraordinary people with tremendous responsibility but still people."

"So what you're saying is that deep down, they're just as screwed up as the rest of us?"

"No. I'm saying they still want to form connections: family, friends, partners," Jane replied, her voice sounding strained, "and I do think they are far more screwed up then the rest of us."

Darcy smirked, "There's my Janey. I knew you were being far too optimistic this morning."

After several more meters, they were lured into a small canteen by the smell of coffee. There was an assortment of baked goods and a fresh pot on the counter.

"Jackpot."

Jane made a beeline for the coffee while Darcy pondered her options of muffin before selecting chocolate chip. The two friends settled on the small table with their goods and Jane started laying out their goals for the day.

"First, we'll attempt for you to create a bridge-"

"What if I fall from somewhere higher than the ceiling?"

"Well... we'll get helmet or something."

"Wait, we're doing experiments regarding space and time and so far on our equipment safety list is 'air mattress' and 'a helmet or something'?" She took a disgruntled bite of her muffin. "I'm so going to die," she mumbled around her food.

Jane rolled her eyes, "It'll be fine. I've invited Wanda Maximoff to join us. She might be able to help you understand how to tap into your power or something and can keep you from hurting yourself too terribly." She paused, taking a swig of her black coffee. "Once you can create one, then we'll see if you can make them directional or if you can control where they are placed. After that, we'll test it with objects and then humans."

"Great," she said and frowned at the melty mess her breakfast was making on her fingers. She had about half of it left and weighing the pros and cons, decided to just shove the rest of it in her mouth to spare any more clean up. Jane raised an eyebrow as she watched this feat.

"Impressive, Darcy."

Darcy shrugged as she started to chew, her eyes sliding to some movement by the door and she was horrified to see Steve step into the room, nodding as he entered.

"Morning Dr. Foster and Ms. Lew-" his voice trailed off as he looked at her. "Are you ok?"

Darcy nodded and turning away, swallowed the rest of the muffin painfully. She coughed, her eyes watering.

 _Swell. Just fucking swell, you lunatic._

"Yep," she replied hoarsely and waved him off as she took a sip of her coffee. She would have wished the floor would just swallow her whole but that idiom has really lost its shine in the past day and a half. Steve just blinked, looking unconvinced before reaching for the coffee pot himself.

"Dr. Foster, we have reason to believe Thor may know where to find some of the infinity gems but I have no way to contact him. You wouldn't happen know of one?" he asked, bringing his cup to his lips.

Jane shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "No. I haven't seen him in nearly a year. We... we don't really stay in contact anymore."

Darcy noticed the subtle changes on the man's face, his eyebrows furrowing either in dismay or concern.

"I'm sorry to hear that, about your relationship, I mean," he said, voice soft and face sympathetic.

 _Concern it is then._

Jane gave a tight smile in response before gathering her coffee, "It's alright. I'm going to gather a few things for the lab. Meet me there?" Darcy noticed the slight sheen in her eyes and went to stand.

"I can go-"

"No!" Jane practically shouted, "I just need a minute. Won't be long."

Darcy stood the rest of the way up, frowning at the space her friend had just left.

"I'm sorry about that. I did not mean to upset her."

"They broke up. It was actually Jane who initiated it."

The captain's eyebrows lifted in mild surprise, "May I ask why?"

"Because Thor is practically immortal. His perception of time is completely different from ours. To him, no contact for months on end seems perfectly reasonable but its a significant chunk of Jane's life being alone. It wasn't fair to her and she was unhappy. Besides, it was going to always end."

"Why do you say that?"

Darcy was surprised by his question, almost shocked that he would even have to ask.

"Jane is going to grow old and die long before Thor will even move into middle age. No matter how much he loves her, one day the attraction will be gone, and their relationship will change. He might not mind, but Jane does."

Steve appeared contemplative for a moment before setting his coffee on the counter. Darcy took it as an opportunity to finish hers and disposed of her cup in the trash.

"Well," she sighed, "Gotta go find Janey." She had just stepped towards the Captain to get by in the small room when the floor went out from under her. It all happened so fast, she barely had time to register it. The sudden weightlessness as she closed her eyes and fell, the impact of something warm and large at her front that wrapped around her, then a twist in the air, and a thud as she came to a sudden halt. Darcy lifted her head to take stock of her new situation, heat suffusing her face to realize she was laying over Captain America's chest. They had fallen onto the breakfast table and he must have turned them in midair for him to land on bottom.

"Oh shit! I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, scrambling up as his arms loosened from around her. In her haste to get up, she was fairly certain she kneed him in the groin and she practically fell again getting off the table. She backed away slowly, bracing herself against the counter top as she backed toward the door. The Captain sat up looking a little bewildered but no worse for wear.

"Are you ok?" she practically whispered and he laughed. It was a rough thing, sounding rusty and unused but the smile he gave, small and a little embarrassed, seemed to come easily.

"I'll live. You?"

"Kinda wish I would die. But I'm fine. I'm uh... just gonna go find Jane. The sooner I get a handle on this, the better." Darcy tore from the break room, cursing under her breath.

 _I broke the time and space stones but could I get the ability to go back in time to erase embarrassing moments, nooooooooooo. I had to get the 'fall continually on your ass' power._

 _Goddammit._


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey, what took you so long?" Jane asked when Darcy finally made it to the lab.

"Oh," she replied casually dragging her finger along the counter top that was covered with Jane's books and papers, "just finished my coffee, had a little chat with the Captain, and then glitched right through the floor again."

Jane's face fell. "Damn and I missed it."

"Why, yes, Jane, I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

Jane sighed, "Well, obviously you're fine. Context clues and all," she said, waving her hand in Darcy's general direction. "But why did it take you so long to find me?"

"I was a little flustered and headed out the wrong way before I had to go back to ask Captain America for directions."

"Why were you flustered?"

"I may have possibly, most likely, definitely kneed him in the junk seven minutes prior."

Jane's brow furrowed and she stopped shuffling the stack of papers in her hand, "Why?"

"He caught me to keep me from hurting myself and in my rush to get off of him... well," she trailed off and halfheartedly mimed bringing her knee up.

Jane gave her a sympathetic look, "Well, you did taze Thor shortly after meeting him. Clint Barton should consider himself lucky if your track record is anything to consider."

Darcy let out a whimper and draped herself over the counter, sending some of the papers fluttering to the floor.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic, Darcy"

"I can't help it. Disney princesses taught me this is the only way to properly express my sorrow."

Jane nudged her with an elbow, "Well express it without disorganizing all my stuff."

Darcy sat up, unsurprised to find that a sticky note had adhered to her forehead. Jane removed it and turned it around for her to see.

 _Statistically Insignificant_

Darcy bunched up her nose. "It's like a science fortune cookie."

Jane returned the wayward scrap of paper to the top of a pile and withdrew a bulky motorcycle helmet from under the counter.

"Come on, my little elevated p-value. We've got work to do."

* * *

Darcy practically growled in frustration as she tried once again, and failed, once again, to re-create a portal. She wobbly stepped off the air mattress and jerked the helmet off her head.

"This isn't working," she said using the back of her hand to push back her hair from where the sweaty helmet had made it stick to her face.

"And you can't feel anything?"

"No, Jane, I told you."

"Well think back to before you-"

"We've been over this-"

"I know but if you just-"

Wanda Maximoff stood from the chair she had occupied for the last hour. "Might I suggest something?" she asked, stepping up to the bickering friends. "I can step into your mind, see if I can find something that feels different from from usual and guide you."

Darcy eyed her warily. "You can do that?"

Wanda nodded. "I was able to do this to help my brother when we first obtained our abilities. Everyone is different but normal humans have a certain feel and structure to the function of their mind. Most of the Avengers.." she stopped as if uncertain how to continue, "feel different... the way they think, how they process information, and when they utilize their gifts. I imagine it will be much the same with you."

Jane and Darcy exchanged glances. "I think its worth a shot," said Jane.

"Ok, just do it," said Darcy in a rush and she closed her eyes. She felt Jane thread her fingers into hers as the first tendrils of Wanda's power entered her mind and Jane's grip tightened with a sharp inhalation. It wasn't painful, per se... Darcy could best describe it as an intense buzzing, bordering on vibrating. Images flashed before her, starting with memories from her childhood.

 _Her mother smiled at her from over her coffee as she opened her Christmas present... a child's pretend doctor kit._

 _Her eyes lit up, "I can be like you mommy!"_

Darcy bit her lip, heart aching at the memory as it was quickly left behind for the next.

 _'Mom?' she called into the house as she pushed open the living room door. It was empty with an old cup of coffee sitting on the end table and the lights were all off despite it being mid afternoon. Darcy set down her duffle bag on the sofa before heading for the stairs. 'Mom?' she called more loudly this time. Her heart started to twist as she eyed her mother's bedroom door that was slightly ajar._

Darcy jerked back, a firm "No" falling from her lips in warning. The scene faded as a she saw her early days as Jane's intern, just before they met Thor.

 _'You've got the position.'_

 _'Really? 'she asked, her eyes going wide. The entire application had been a shot in the dark, needing something to fluff up her CV._

 _'You were the only applicant,' Jane replied flatly before forcing a smile and sticking her hand out for Darcy to shake._

The scenes started to shift abruptly, as if Wanda was searching for something specific.

 _Hitting Thor with the van..._

 _Pulling animals out of that pet store before the destroyer burned it down..._

 _Moving to London..._

 _Saving London from the dark elves..._

 _Moving back to New Mexico..._

 _Telling Jane she was applying to graduate school..._

 _Binge drinking wine with Jane after she broke up with Thor..._

The rapidity of the images started to slow once they had crossed into her time in New York.

 _The alarms blared throughout the city as she ran towards the explosions. She had to duck into alley ways here and there to move around the throngs of people trying to escape..._

 _Thor's body, bloodied and broken..._

Jane gasped at her side, clutching Darcy's hand even more tightly.

 _Miljolnir._

 _Steve Rogers._

 _Thanos._

Darcy's eyes snapped opened as Wanda withdrew from her mind and the woman nodded. "Perhaps you should try now."

Jane stumbled back from the pair of them and braced herself against the wall.

"Jane, are you alright?"

"Yea, I just..." She straightened. "I'm fine. Are you ready to continue?"

Darcy eyed her friend and Jane just stared back, her arms crossing over her chest defiantly. The stand off lasted a few more seconds until Darcy relented and reached for the discarded motorcycle helmet. She crammed it on her head and walked back to the middle of the mattress and closed her eyes in concentration. Her fingertips twitched and she flexed them to try to shake off the tingling she felt but that just seemed to make it worse. Darcy brought them up to her face to inspect them but couldn't see anything through the black visor of the helmet and snatched it off her head to again examine her fingers. At first she thought she was imagining it and closed her eyes firmly to reorient them before chancing a second look but there it was... a soft, undulating haze along all the borders of her fingers, subtly, but constantly changing their shape and level of transparency.

Jane came up to see what had her so mesmerized and gasped, "Waves and particles."

Darcy quirked an eyebrow, "Is that a new curse I've never heard of?"

"No. Waves and particles," repeated Jane as if it should be obvious and she looked back and forth between Wanda and her friend. When there continued to be no recognition, she huffed and took a deep breath. "Okay, there was a classic experiment done on photons. There were fired at a structure that had two openings and there was a machine at the other end to detect which slot the photons went through. To go through one, it would have to behave as a wave. To go through the other, a classic particle. What the experiment found was despite all the settings being the exact same prior to the photon being fired, the photons went through both. Thus it acted as both wave and particle. The experiment was repeated later using helium atoms to evaluate if this was possible for particles that actually had mass, and it was, but the crazy part is that they found was that measuring the particles seemed to retroactively influence the path they took."

Wanda frowned, "And that means?"

"That reality doesn't exist if we don't observe it. That particles can potentially be in multiple states until we measure them."

"And what does that have to do my hands?"

Jane smiled in that slightly manic scientist way she had about her and pulled a pen from her pocket, passing it easily through Darcy's hand as it if were nothing more than air. "Your atoms are in all states _despite_ being observed. This is remarkable."

Darcy's jaw dropped as Jane did it again.

"Now think about where you want it to go and direct it outward," said Wanda, bringing their attention back to their original task. Darcy focused on a spot on the floor, and watched, shocked as ever so slowly, the edges of the tile started blur. Jane walked up to it, carefully testing the integrity of the floor until she was right next to it and dropped her pen. The blue ball point was swallowed by the floor and came tumbling from the ceiling directly above.

Jane beamed at her, "I'm so glad you were my only applicant for intern."


	7. Chapter 7

Darcy inhaled deeply into the cup in her hands, hoping the aroma of the tea would soothe the vice-like headache she had pounding between her eyes. Jane had worked her until her nerves were frayed, creating portal after portal with focus on placement and size. So far it seemed that location wasn't limited as she was able to project them onto any surface though the larger ones took far more energy to maintain.

She sighed, feeling lucky to find the stairwell to the roof. She was obviously not the first to do so if the scattered chairs were any indication. She took a sip of her drink and hoped, as an after thought, that she could find her way back to her room without too much difficulty. She propped her feet on the concrete railing and looked up into the night sky. She had missed being able to see the stars while she was in New York as the view she had grown accustomed to in the deserts of New Mexico were stunning, stretching the entire length of her field of vision. She had spent many a night lying back on the hood of her corolla, just watching them. The frequency of these desert trips increased after she met Thor, his existence being confirmation of something much greater beyond their little planet.

She had just rested her head on the back of her chair when the door creaked opened and a long shadow moved in the corner of her eye.

"Ms. Lewis," said Steve Rogers as he stepped in front of her, "I was hoping to have a moment of your time."

"Sure," she replied, resting her cup in her lap.

"How is the work with Dr. Foster coming along?"

"Well, she hasn't tried to bait me with cheese to run a maze yet, so there's that. We did have some success today, though," said and held up her hand. She allowed it to phase, its varying translucency obvious before she wrapped it back around her cup.

"You can control it?"

Darcy shrugged. "I wouldn't go that far," she replied, "but we did find that I can direct the portals and can sense if they're about to happen and stop them."

He nodded. "What's Foster's impression?"

Darcy snorted a laugh. "She is so giddy, it's practically obscene. She thinks I'm able to change the state of atoms which allows things to pass through them, though she's still trying to understand how they reappear elsewhere. So far, she's inclined to agree with Dr. Strange that I am folding space in some way to connect two points. Don't worry, she's already got a 30 page agenda that she wants to start on at 6 a.m. tomorrow to suss it all out."

"That sounds... intense."

"It sounds like Jane." She took another sip of her tea to fill the silence and a sudden thought occurred to her. "Sorry about earlier," she said, wincing.

He brushed it off. "Most of the people in this building have attacked me at one time or another. And you didn't even do it intentionally."

She smiled, thankful for his graciousness. "Sorry, all the same."

They were quiet for a few beats before Steve spoke up.

"Wanda is the only other person I know that gained her power from those things and she is... well, let's just say I'm grateful she is on our side." His eyes met hers and she was struck by his earnest expression. "I trusting you to let me knoe exactly what it is you can do and if it puts anyone, including yourself, in danger."

She nodded, letting a rare solemnity wrap around her expression and voice. "Of course."

His posture relaxed and he seemed assuaged. They fell quiet again and Steve looked out at the horizon, his eyes continuously scanning their surroundings. She wondered if she would be like that one day, always looking for threats lurking in the shadows.

 _Pounds of flesh..._

"So," she said, breaking the silence to distract her thoughts, "Strange is going to talk to Tony Stark? Try to get the band back together like it was before you guys went all Fleetwood Mac?"

Steve gave a small nod, his arms going to cross over his chest.

"Do you think it'll work?" she asked.

He frowned, his eyes dropping to his feet. "I don't know. What happened... it got personal and ended badly. If a threat of universal annihilation isn't enough to get us on speaking terms, I'm not sure anything is."

"Well," said Darcy, lifting her tea in a mock toast, "here's hoping Strange and Stark can bond over their love of intensely precise facial hair."

Steve let out a huff of amusement and smiled and Darcy felt her cheeks flush with the pleasure of being the one to make it happen.

"Yea," he said nodding. "I also wanted to say, if you've got family or anyone you need to let know you're okay, we can arrange that. Obviously, you can't tell them where you are or-"

"No," she interrupted, shaking her head. "I was an only child and raised by my mom and my grandmother. They're both gone now. Jane is only person that I would need to tell and she's here... though if someone could drop a note to Erik Selvig that we're alive and safe, I'd appreciate it." She looked down at her hands as they gripped her mug more tightly, certain that his eyes were still on her.

"Of course. And I'm sorry about your family."

She nodded, swallowing heavily. "Thank you for thinking of it, though." She looked up and her eyes flicked over him, taking in the line of his jaw, the width of his shoulders, and the straining cuffs of his rolled ups sleeves over his forearms...

 _Oh no. No. Nope. You cannot develop a ridiculous crush on Steve Rogers. Only humiliation and crushed dignity lie that way, brain._

She stood abruptly and he looked at her expectantly. "Right, well. I'm exhausted and Jane has a full day of carrots and sticks for me so," she jabbed her two thumbs over her shoulder,"I'm just going to get to bed. Goodnight!" She turned and walked self consciously up to the door to pull it open. She barely heard his reply.

"Goodnight, Darcy."

* * *

"Okay," said Jane adjusting the gloves on her hands, "now that you can make them appear on the surfaces and in the air, I think we need to see if you can hold multiples at one time."

Darcy nodded and focused on the space in front of her until the air seemed to ripple and shine like the reflection of light on water. She held it there for a few seconds, making sure she could sustain it before creating the exit behind her.

Jane stepped up and examined them both, nodding her approval. She withdrew a ball of yarn from her bag and tossed it into the first portal while holding onto the loose end. The bright red ball bounced out if the second opening to tap lightly against Darcy's heel and she stepped aside, creating a portal directly underneath and above it. She easily caught the object as it fell from the ceiling. Jane tugged on her end of the string, causing the ball to unravel a bit in Darcy's hands.

"Okay, so it looks like force can be transmitted through the portal. Close them. Let's see what it does to the stri-" Her voice trailed off as Darcy quickly let them close, severing the string and the pieces fell, loose ends tumbling to the floor. Darcy and Jane winced.

"So no closing portals while people are passing through them. Good to know."

"We also know you can create multiples now," said Jane, pulling her notebook out her pocket to make a notation.

Darcy sagged against the counter top. "Yeah but it just takes a lot more of my concentration and energy the more I create."

Jane seemed to not hear her. "Do you think you could change the positioning of the entrance and exit portals while maintaining the connection?"

"Like move them after I've already made them?" Darcy shrugged. "I could try."

Jane moved slowly, spinning in a circle as if looking for something when she grabbed the apple left over from her breakfast.

"Okay, go ahead and put them vertical, entrance on the floor, exit right above it."

Once Darcy had done so, Jane dropped the apple and it fell repeatedly through the two portals, quickly appearing to be no more than a blur.

"Whenever you're ready Darcy, aim the exit portal at that wall," she said pointing to the concrete one at the far end of the room.

Darcy extended her hand and one of the portals snapped out of existence to appear instantaneous in front of the wall. The apple flew outward, obliterating itself against it and both women ducked to avoid the sudden spray of applesauce in their direction.

"I'd say that was a success," said Darcy wiping a giant glob of the stuff from her hair. "I think I read once this stuff makes for a decent conditioner... or was that beer?"

"Well, it gives you an offensive option with your powers instead of just using portals to move out of the line of fire," said Jane ignoring her last question. "As long as you can make the portal big enough, there's no reason to think you couldn't fling something larger".

"It's not her only offensive option."

Both women turned to see Clint enter the lab and Darcy grimaced. "I'm not super down with the idea of splicing people in half with these things."

"Not what I was thinking," he replied. "You could use it to launch yourself."

Darcy let out a nervous laugh, her eyes darting from Clint to Jane. "What? You're kidding, right?"

Clint pushed himself up to sit on the counter. "Sure ,you can walk through portals, but they could be used to propel you through the air. Just like you did with that apple."

Darcy's jaw dropped in disbelief, her head looking back at the dripping mess on the wall and then back to Clint for emphasis.

"You did see what happened to the apple?"

Jane started to shake her head. "No, that's a terrible idea. She could easily reach terminal velocity and she would never survive an impact."

Clint shrugged. "She would have to use the portals and gravity to slow herself down."

"And why would I want to do that?"

"Look, you don't have to, but it is probably a good idea for you to figure out everything you can do and use it to your advantage. Just saying, mastery is the smartest approach."

"Oh yes, well, forgive me that I did not see the immediate benefit of hurling myself through the air like a goddamn lawn dart!" Darcy, huffed, pushing her hair behind her ears. "I'll think about it. What did you come down here for anyway.?"

"Came see you in action and discuss the rest of your training."

Darcy's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What other training?" she asked, taking a step back from him.

"The usual: fitness, weapons, self defense, and in your case, ariel proprioception training."

"What? why?"

"You planning on sitting the next fight out if we need you?"

"Well, no."

"Then you need to train."

She looked at Jane who just shrugged. "He has a point."

Darcy pushed her glasses up higher on her face before throwing her hands up in defeat. "Fine."

Clint smiled and hopped of his perch to move toward the door. "Excellent. See you tomorrow morning at oh-six-hundred in the gym. I'm on my way to requisitions to make a special request just for you."

The door swung shut silently behind him.

"I should be worried, right?" asked Darcy, staring at the empty space he just left.

"About which part?"

"All of it."

"Yeah...we're gonna need a bigger air mattress."


	8. Chapter 8

Darcy stared, eyes narrowed, pondering her conundrum. She tried to lift her right leg but screeched in pain, putting it back down on the floor. The left was tried with similar success. Gritting her teeth she grabbed the railing and pulled, whimpering as the burn in her arms made it impossible. She released her grip, defeated. The stairs were definitely not happening today.

She'd never been so sore in her life. Flexing her fingers hurt, turning her head hurt. Laughing sent her into spasms of misery. She couldn't even sigh about her predicament without the lactic acid in her muscles reminding her that she had neglected to do much of anything that could be considered "exercise" in the past four years.

She turned, frustrated, to look for an elevator... an escalator...even a friendly Avenger with flying ability would do to transport her to her room. She just wanted to collapse into the hottest bath her skin could tolerate, wash away the sweat and the grime before getting up in the morning to do it all over again. The past week had been grueling, but rewarding. Barton had started the first day with what seemed to Darcy as a reasonable, if strenuous, regimen but was rapidly increasing the intensity and length of her training in the mornings, leaving most of her afternoons to work with Jane.

 _I saw you during Loki's first attack,_ he had told her on the third day when she nearly crumpled from exhaustion _, I've seen the footage with Dr. Foster in London, and I know what Strange said you did. You've got the mental fortitude. But to keep it when you are physically drained and at your limit, to be able to dig even deeper... well... that's something you've gotta learn. Now, again._

She slumped against the wall, her head falling back and she closed her eyes. She envisioned the door to her room and imagined a portal there, reaching for it in her mind, just as she did with targets right in front of her and felt that same tingling in her fingers . She opened her eyes.

"No way," she muttered to herself while extending out her hand to create the sister portal. She awkwardly pushed herself off the wall and stepped through, delighted to find herself directly in front of her door. She started a double fist pump in celebration but immediately curled into herself at the pain that shot through her arms.

"You okay?"

Darcy jumped in surprise and immediately grimaced in pain. She opened her eyes to see Captain Rogers walking towards her in the hall. She groaned to herself as she straightened, thinking of her disheveled, sweaty appearance.

"Yeah, I'm fine, though I do think Barton is trying for the 'most creative murder' award."

He slowed to a stopped, passing a critical eye over her before nodding. "I wanted to speak to you about Thanos."

"Uh, sure. Just..." She keyed herself into her room and gestured to the small living area. "Have a seat." She glanced longingly at the bath tub through the slightly ajar bathroom door as she lowered herself painfully onto the sofa.

"I need you to walk me through it. What you saw, what you heard. There might be something that can help us," said Steve taking the chair.

Darcy shrugged. "There's not much to tell. We heard explosions and I went to see what was going on when I found..." She stumbled over her words as her mind replayed the moment she first knew something was terribly wrong.

 _She rounded the corner, nearly skidding in her boots with an abrupt stop. A glint of metallic red and gold caught the sunlight. She walked slowly around the debris, recognizing the vaugue shape of a hand, then arm, then..._

Steve leaned forward, his hands clasping together.

"What did you see?"

"I found Tony Stark. He was far away from the rest of you so I assume he was thrown after he was killed and just left there."

She glanced up at Steve and his expression remained unchanged except for the flex in a muscle in his jaw.

"How did he die?"

"I'm not completely sure... but," she hesitated, finding it difficult to say out loud, "he had been crushed."

His eyes cast downward before flicking back up to her. "Then what?"

Darcy took a deep breath, her eyes moving to fixate on her thumb nail. "It was really weird... the closer I got, the more destruction there was but a lot of debris was either floating in the air or gone. It was like parts of buildings were just missing, vaporized away or something. By the time I had gotten there, Barton and the Vision had been killed. Only you, Thor, Strange, and Loki were alive to fight. I don't know what happened to the others."

"Loki?" Steve asked, his voice sharp. "Are you sure?"

Darcy nodded, "I didn't see much of him but he was with Thor."

His knuckles blanched white briefly as he flexed them. "Tell me about Thanos."

"He's huge, taller than Thor by quite a bit. The Stones were on a gauntlet on his hand. I think it shot something out of it, but it also seemed to give him telekinesis. I didn't see much more than just a glance. As soon as Thor spotted me, he took me away. Not far, but out of the immediate fight."

"Nothing else?"

She shook her head. "No."

"And how did you get Mjolnir?"

Darcy clasped her hands together to still their agitated movements. She had avoided thinking of this until now.

"While I was cowering and panicking, Thor was killed and thrown into my hiding space." She paused to swallow thickly. "I saw the hammer and lifted it, intending to bring it to you, Strange, or Loki, thinking maybe it could help. But when I got back to where Thanos was, he was about to kill you with that demonic power glove so I hit it instead. And then here we are." She turned her head to covertly sweep at her watery eyes, not wanting him to know how much the death and destruction had bothered her. An image of her mother raising an eyebrow as if to say _'See?'_ flashed before her eyes and she pushed it away. When she looked back, the Captain was watching her carefully.

"I'm sorry you had to experience that," he said quietly. "The violent death of a friend is something that we never really come back from..." he paused before continuing, "even if they somehow manage to."

She frowned and her eyes met his. "Sergeant Barnes?"

His nod was his only reply.

"Is life always this strange for you guys?"

He sat back, his palms upturning slightly. "I started out fighting a nazi with a red skull for a face, and then was trapped in ice for seventy years. Even I don't believe what is happening to us most of the time."

She smiled, appreciating his candor, and shifted to a more comfortable position with a wince.

"So what's Barton doing to you?"

"Nothing too crazy. Typical exercise stuff. This is mostly my fault for refusing to do any physical activity that couldn't be done comfortably with a wine glass in my hand for the past four years. Though he is having me work on some 'footwork,' as he calls it. Says it will help with my balance and agility but I just feel like a dancing monkey." She scoffed. "Lab rat and dancing monkey were definitely not on my vision board in undergrad."

Her last sentence seemed to startle the Captain and he eyed her quizzically.

"I think you were meant for more than that," he finally replied, looking at her as if seeing her for the first time.

Darcy, a bit stunned by the wistfulness in his tone couldn't think of a reply. He seemed to shake himself and stood, making for her door.

"You need your rest to heal so I'll be going. Thank you for the information," he said, his voice immediately firm and professional again.

Darcy had barely managed, "Bye" when the door clicked shut.


	9. Chapter 9

Darcy gasped, the air rushing from her lungs as Barton threw her across his hip onto the mat.

"While I can appreciate the spirit," he said before pointing a finger in her face, "you are not a brawler in any aspect. You have to evade, strike quickly, and evade again. And once you get full control, learn how to integrate your powers to get the upper hand."

Darcy turn her eyes towards the man from her sprawled position on the mat and they narrowed. "You're a sadist."

"Your body's got to be a finely tuned weapon."

She groaned and slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position on the mat, her muscles aching. She was exhausted, having already ran, sparred, and done more sit-ups in the last couple hours than her entire duration of college.

" _Your_ body is a weapon. _My_ body is a temple and its sacraments are red wine and carbs."

His head tilted and raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure that's already a thing, Darcy."

"Oh...yeah."

"Come on, Lewis," said Barton poking her thigh with the toe of his shoe. "I got word that your new equipment is in."

He reached down to extend her a hand up and she took it, grateful to let him pull her to her feet.

He released her and held open the door to the gymnasium. "Lets go, Scott Bakula. Time to show you the new toy."

She stopped in the door frame in confusion at the two huge side-by-side trampolines.

"Are we joining Cirque du Soleil?"

Barton smirked and bolted up on to the nearest one, immediately launching himself into the air. After a few solid bounces, he was flying high and with each jump twisted and flipped with amazing dexterity. He stopped after a few minutes and sat back down on the edge of the equipment, not even winded.

"Aerial proprioception," he said, "You need to know where your body is in space. You need to know which way is up, which way is down, no matter how you are falling."

Darcy swallowed nervously and folded her arms over her chest. "I'm not so sure about this."

"It's better to figure it out now then while falling from ten thousand feet," he said giving her a pointed look. "We have to be prepared for any possibility and those of us who can't fly, have to have a plan for when we fall from high enough to kill us."

"That kind of thing happen a lot?"

"A lot of things happen a lot to us."

He jumped off and started walking toward the door. "We'll call it a day Lewis."

Darcy eyed the trampoline before glancing down at her chest, and wondered if she could get a better sports bra from requisitions.

* * *

"Jane, you will not believe what Barton's 'specialized training equipment'-"

Darcy stopped short in the lab as Jane scrambled to straighten the gloves on her hands before turning around, a slightly panicked look on her face.

"Jane? What's wrong?"

Jane tucked her hair behind her ear and gave Darcy a tight smile. "Nothing. I'm fine."

Darcy gave her a skeptical look.

"I'm fine," repeated Jane with emphasis. "What was the equipment?"

Darcy sighed unhappily and gave her a look that said this was not quite over, "A trampoline."

Jane's eyebrows shot up, "Makes sense, I suppose."

Darcy rolled her eyes. "I see the logic of it but if these are my 'specialized training equipment' pieces, I feel like I'm one step away from a superhero costume with a boob window." She pushed herself up on the counter next to Jane who reached up to pat her shoulder. "So, what's on the agenda today?"

"Well," said Jane, looking hesitant, "I was thinking, instead of portals, you could phase your hand... and then unphase it... while an object is through it."

Darcy just looked at her like she was crazy.

"Just hear me out! I don't think the object will get embedded in your hand... probably. " She rushed to continue as Darcy opened her mouth to protest. "What I think will happen instead is a small... teeny... tiny... explosion. "

"Jane!"

"Two separate masses cannot occupy the same space at the same time so when you let your atoms solidify their state, they will push the foreign body forcibly away."

"How do you know my atoms will win the explosion tug-o-war and not be blown to bits instead?"

"Well, I-"

She was interrupted by a knock on the lab door and Wanda entered. "Captain called a meeting."

The two friends exchanged looks before following her out the door to the conference room. The Captain was already there, along with Natasha Romanov, T'Challa, and Barton. Darcy took the chair in the corner furthest away and looked over the spy with minimally veiled curiosity. Gorgeous, deadly competent, and intimidating as hell, the woman fascinated her from the moment she had been aware of her existence. Jane took a seat next to her as Sam Wilson and Scott Lang filed into the room. The latter nodded at them both before doing a double take at the gloves on Jane's hands. She responded by crossing her arms over her chest.

"We have some new intel," started Steve as they all took a seat and he handed a controller to Romanov. She clicked it and several images flew up in a hologram.

"These are images taken from multiple satellites around the world, all showing similar unidentified flying crafts. They do not match any specific affiliation and their technology does not appear to be Earth based." She cycled through several more pictures, each with different languages as captions. "The most recent sighting have been in New York and over the Sudan. So far, based on its movements, it appears to be preforming surveillance, but is large enough to be a manned craft."

"We suspect these are scouts sent by Thanos."

"Why?" asked Wanda.

"Preparation for invasion."

An uncomfortable silence descended over the room as the occupants looked worriedly at one another.

"Steven Strange suspects Thanos has retained some memory of the time reset and accelerated the time frame of his attack. He has spoken with Tony and shown him the evidence and he and Vision have agreed to meet with us.

"What about Banner?" asked Sam.

"Strange has some leads but nothing definite yet."

"And the spider kid?"

"Tony made it clear he sits this one out."

"I have my best technologists analyzing the images. We hope to learn more of these creatures and their weaponry to prepare our defense," said T'Challa. "In the meantime, we are starting on upgrades for everyone's uniforms with vibrainium weave and weapons where applicable."

"Uniforms?" whispered Darcy slightly alarmed.

"Well, there's still time to request that boob window you wanted," muttered Jane.

A choked laugh erupted from Scott and Darcy shot Jane a dirty look before turning her attention back to the front of the room.

"Any news on Thor?" asked Clint.

"Strange's had no luck so far. However, he's heard there is currently some kind of internal strife on Asgard but the nature of which we don't know. That's all we have at the moment. I'll let you all know as soon as we find out more," said Steve, nodding his head in dismissal.

They exchanged worried looks before rising to leave and Darcy looped her arm in with Jane's to steer her away from the crowd.

"What do you think that was all about with Thor?"

"I don't know," said Jane frowning. "The last I knew, Thor's father was in control, Loki was dead, and everything seemed to be okay except for Thor refusing to take the throne."

"Oh, shit," said Darcy halting in her tracks.

"What?"

"Loki's not dead, Jane."

Jane stared at her for a few beats before shaking her head. "I saw him die. He died protecting me. For Thor."

"He was there Jane, in New York. He was one of the only ones left."

"What?" hissed Jane, disbelieving.

"God of tricks," replied Darcy shrugging. "But definitely alive."

Jane's gloved hands came up to rub her temples in an agitated manner.

"What's up with those?"

Jane's eyes opened wearily before she sighed in defeat and snatched the gloves off her hands.

"This," she said, extending them towards Darcy, "started after Wanda looked into your mind."

At first Darcy couldn't see anything wrong until slowly Jane's fingertips blackened, the color extending into her palms, then wrist, and up into her forearm. Fissures snaked behind it, cracking her flesh, and small wafts of smoke curled up from them.

"What the fuck, Jane."

"Oh, it gets even better," she replied, anxiety clear in her voice. She stepped to a potted plant in the hall and lightly placed a finger on the leaf. It shrunk away from her, turning brown, to fall to the floor where it blackened before crumbling into ash.

Her hand flushed white to pink before resuming its normal human appearance and she curled it into a fist.

"It only happens when I allow it, but I'm terrified to touch another living being, so I'd just prefer not at the moment."

"How?"

Jane let out a watery laugh as she pulled back on her gloves. "I regret complaining about the infinity stones giving you powers and not me. Be careful what you wish for..."


	10. Chapter 10

_This isn't so bad_ , she thought as she bounced higher on the trampoline, and pulled her ponytail tighter. Barton had left her with instructions to keep practicing on the trampoline. It had taken a couple of days for her to get used to the rhythm and height of it but now she found it relaxing. She closed her eyes, syncing her breath with her movements. Her arms went up as she reached the zenith, her knees tucking to her chest and head tilting back. The world righted itself and her feet struck the trampoline, shooting her back into the air. This time she flipped forward, continuing the exercise Clint had instructed her on earlier that day. Back and forth she went until on a forward pass, she under rotated, the backside of her heels striking the mesh. Her body shot backwards, coming to a stop after a few awkward bounces. She pushed herself up, ready to try again when she heard foot falls against the floor. Brushing some stray strands of hair from her face, she sat on the edge of the trampoline as the Captain approached.

"Jane spoke with me," he said stopping in front of her.

Darcy nodded. "Yeah, she told me she would."

Steve exhaled deeply and scratched his chin, "I don't know what to make of any of this. Sorta out of my wheel house."

"You and me both."

"She seemed alright when we spoke, but is she doing ok?"

"Jane's pretty metal when it comes to compartamentalization. Her frustration usually only manifests as aggressive driving though she does get a little tetchy in the lab and in class."

He smiled, his hands going to his pockets and he looked around the gym. "Was she your professor? Is that how you got on her research team?"

"Uh, negatory. I was a political science major but I needed to versify my CV before graduate school and Jane's project was the only one that was accepting off cycle applicants," replied Darcy and she grinned. "I did hear Jane was a terror as a professor though. Once cut a guy's headphones wire when he refused to take them out in class."

He moved to push himself up on the trampoline to sit next to her. Darcy involuntarily tensed and her heart rate picked up.

 _Dammit_ , she internally cursed, realizing her silly crush had indeed taken root. He glanced down at her and she gripped the edge of the trampoline. Flawless skin, chiseled jaw, blue eyes with green flecks...

 _Damn, damn, damn._

"When we were kids," he said, "Buck and I had this coach that would pick us up and erase the chalkboard with us if we started to get mouthy."

Darcy smirked, thinking of her own high school experience. "My favorite teacher was Ms. Jacobs. She was elderly... or she just seemed elderly to my fifteen year old self. She would point to the board only using her middle finger. I suspect it was a little passive aggressive towards us but we were teenagers and therefore just the worst."

He gave a soft chuckle. "Do you think Sam or Scott would notice if I started doing that?"

"Most definitely," she replied, "but still totally worth it."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, both just staring at the grey cinder blocks that lined the room.

"Clint thinks you're almost ready to try some field exercises."

"Does he?" she asked with a tone of suspicion. "I swear, I must have done something to that guy in a past life."

"He just wants to make sure you live," he replied good naturedly.

"Yeah, I know. I just wish survival didn't have to hurt so much."

Steve nodded, looking contemplative for a moment. "Yeah, me neither."

He sighed, then pushed back off to the ground. "Check with Foster on the physics and get back to Clint when you're ready for those field exercises. We'll have Wanda to spot you but it's best to be prepared." He started walking and was nearly to the door when he stopped. "I don't know if Thor ever told you, but lifting Mjolnir made you an Asgardian princess for the duration you wielded it."

Darcy's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"Yup."

"Well," she said in a measured tone, "That is definitely going on my CV... right underneath 'waitress at Shoney's for two years'."

He smiled and seemed to hesitate before walking out the door.

* * *

Steve turned as the gym door clicked shut and came up short when he spotted Natasha leaning casually against the wall. The smiled dropped off his face and his ears flushed as she looked at him. He felt suddenly exposed

"She seems nice."

"Nat," he nodded in greeting, ignoring her previous sentence.

The spy pushed off the wall and fell in step with him. "You know, she's one of the only two Midgardian's to ever fell Thor."

Steve's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

She smirked at his befuddlement. "It was right after he was cast out of Asgard. She, Dr. Foster, and Dr. Selvig found him and Lewis tazed him... even sent him to the hospital." Natasha shrugged. "He wasn't imbued with his usual powers but I still find it impressive... and the irony extremely amusing."

"The irony?"

She looked at him as if he was daft. "God of Thunder gets his ass handed to him by small human with artificial lightning."

"I see. Who was the other Midgardian?"

Natasha's face lost any of its amusement, returning the flat mask she wore so well. "Banner."

Steve stopped walking, his hand reaching out to touch her shoulder. "You want to talk about it?"

"Nothing to discuss. It was a foolish venture on my part, one that I knew was not going to succeed but that I pursued anyway," she replied dispassionately. "He never trusted himself as the Hulk, and he still loved Betty Ross. The former reason I thought I could counter act. The latter I did not realize until it had already gone to hell." She looked up at Steve, her face confident. "Besides, I don't like the person I was when we were together. I don't run from my responsibilities. I'm an Avenger."

He squeezed her shoulder in support before releasing her. "It's good to have you back."

She smiled, briefly but genuinely, as they started walking again. "So," she said, "When is Tony getting here?"

"No word on exactly when but soon, I'm sure."

"And what about Barnes? Tony won't cooperate if he's around... Tony barely cooperates when everything is copacetic."

Steve sighed, frustrated. "Bucky is back in cryo until we find a cure, at his own request. Hopefully that will satisfy Tony for the time being."

"And how does the team feel about him and Vision returning?"

"They are pretty bitter about their imprisonment and the conditions they were left in. Clint's more angry about what they did to Wanda than anything else, but they all know what's at stake and can put it aside to do their jobs."

Natasha nodded, "Betrayals, grudges, seething anger... what could go wrong?"

Steve gave a humorless bark of laughter in agreement. She reached out and squeezed his arm before leaving him in the hall. He glanced back in the direction of the gymnasium with a sneaking suspicion that returning could chase away his melancholy. He shrugged it off and started for his own quarters.


	11. Chapter 11

"Okay," said Jane, pulling up her chair beside Darcy in the lab. "You have to, absolutely have to remember that your momentum will be preserved when you're traveling through a portal. Whatever speed you are going when you enter will be the speed you are going when you exit. Now, this is obvious if you run through one but let's say you're in a car. The car is going seventy miles per hour. If you portal out of the car, your body will still be traveling at seventy miles per hour. This is why people can't just step gently off of a moving train onto a platform. Same goes for you."

She looked at Darcy pointedly as if waiting for confirmation.

"Got it. It's not just how fast I'm moving, but how fast what I'm in is moving too."

"Same goes for if you are trying to portal into something that is already moving. To not get hurt, you'll have to try to match its speed first."

Darcy sighed, "This sounds ... tricky."

"I don't think tricky is the right word to describe physics..." Jane replied, looking contemplative. "Unforgiving, maybe?"

"You know, I think you really missed your calling as a motivational speaker."

Jane sighed, seemingly frustrated. "Sorry, I just want to make sure you know what your limits are. Maybe the infinity stones made you resistant or even immortal for all I know... but I really don't want to test that theory."

"I know you're just looking out for me. I'm just a bit terrified, if I'm honest," sighed Darcy in return, leaning back in her chair. "What about you? You decide if you are going to train yet?"

Jane pushed her hair behind her ear and frowned. "I don't think so. This," she said, waggling her gloved fingers in front of her face, "means I'd have to get up close and personal to be of any use and that would mean always killing... there's really no in-between. I can't do that." She paused, her palms flattening onto the top of the desk. "I don't want to be okay with doing that."

"I didn't...Jane, I'm sorry..."

Jane shrugged, turning back to her notes. "It is what it is. Anyway, back to you. Keeping in mind preserved momentum, when in doubt, create an exit portal and aim it to open sky. No matter how fast you are traveling, gravity can slow you down. Once your velocity is zero, you can simply put a new entrance portal underneath you and link it to one just above the ground."

Darcy nodded her understanding and they practiced the concept using items in the room until she was confident in her placement and control.

"I'll talk to Barton but you should practice using yourself and the trampolines before we advance to a field test," said Jane, reaching for her bag.

Darcy gave a wordless thumbs up as she filed out the lab behind her.

"So," said Darcy after they had walked a few halls in silence, "What are you going to say to Thor when he gets back?"

Jane shrugged. "I don't really know but I suppose I'll just say whatever I want," She said and smiled sadly. "One good thing about the end of the world is that it focuses your priorities. And as far as consequences go...well, there only a few that really matter."

Darcy hesitated as she left Jane at her door to go to her own just a few meters away.

"I hadn't thought about it like that."

Jane shrugged.

"Maybe you should."

* * *

Darcy's eyes fluttered open as she stared into the pitched darkness of her room, not really sure of what had woken her. A dull thud had her jumping out of bed to press her ear against the wall she shared with Jane. A muffled scream reached her ears and she pushed away from the wall in alarm, her heart hammering away in her chest. She snatched a vase from the side board, gripping it tightly as she portaled into Jane's quarters.

A cloaked figure was dragging Jane as she fought fiercely against her captor despite her arms being pinned to her sides. Darcy threw the vase at its head and it flinched, whirling with Jane still in its grasp.

"Fuck, I really thought that was going to do more."

Jane twisted more violently and drove her elbow into her assailant's side and it jerked backward, a dual toned growl emanating from its throat. Darcy, in a moment of sudden inspiration, ran forward and tackled them both into a portal she created at its feet. They all tumbled backwards, passing through Darcy's portal to fall several feet onto the roof. The impact broke them apart and Darcy rolled away, pulling Jane with her. They scrambled to their feet, putting as much distance between themselves and the creature as possible. It was quickly recovering as it pushed itself up, the hood falling back from its face and its bluish skin pulsed as dark eyes narrowed on them. It extended its arm, a crackling ball of energy shooting outward. Feeling the hairs of her arm stand on end, Darcy threw up a portal, deflecting the attack skyward. Jane grabbed one of the chairs and did her best to heave it in the creature's direction to slow its advance. Taking note of its steps as it ran, Darcy set a large portal under its feet and suddenly he was gone, reappearing in the distance to fall to the ground far below. She breathed a sigh of relief that was quickly cut off as several more cloaked figures scurried over the sides of the building.

"Darcy..." said Jane, her voice low and wavering, "don't touch me without warning, okay?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Darcy could see Jane's hands turn black. She swallowed thickly, extending her own palms out and her fingers buzzed as the atoms in them started to alter.

 _Get in, get out, evade,_ she thought. She tried to recall everything Clint had taught her, but as soon as she remembered anything, it slipped away from her into the fog of fear.

 _Ok, improvise then._

She dropped the remaining chairs onto their heads, but there were so many, most of the blows were glancing. Her hair sizzled as an attack flew past and she threw up a portal to act once again as a shield. The tingling in her arms became more severe as she created portal after portal in defense, each new one making her feel as if her skin was vibrating. The creatures had managed to separate them from each other despite her efforts and Darcy blindly dropped herself at Jane's side, a sharp pain slicing across her upper arm as she passed through the portal. She ignored it, instead her attention drawn to Jane who had just been hit, a current passing over the astrophysicist's body as she collapsed to the ground. One of the creatures yelled in its guttural language and their efforts against the two women seemed redoubled.

"Jane!" screamed Darcy, and threw herself over her friend in protection. She lifted her head when she heard the distinct tap-tap-tap of a semi-automatic weapon to see the Black Widow vaulting over the roof line. In her distraction she did not see the creature bearing down on her, its long scythe like weapon swinging downward. She tightened her grip on Jane, preparing to move them when the loud crash of metal reverberating off of metal had her looking upward. Steve leaned over them, his arm and an unadorned shield stopping the scythe's progress. His trailing hand followed with a punishing blow, sending the creature stumbling backwards as he and Romanov joined the fray.

Darcy pulled Jane's limp body to the far end of the roof and stood over her. She watched the others as they fought, tripping up the attackers when she was able and dropping them over the side of the building. It was not long until the door of the roof slammed open, and Sam and Clint came charging in, uncostumed.

"Wanda, T'Challa, and Scott got the lower floors covered," shouted Barton to the Captain as he nocked an arrow.

Darcy's arm throbbed in pain but the adrenaline seemed to be keeping most of it at bay. The figures were retreating now, mostly moving defensively as the Avengers beat them back.

"Heads up!" shouted Steve as a platform moved in through the clouds. It banked over them, sending out a shock wave that knocked them all to the cement and tar. The creatures scrambled onto it as it lowered itself before lifting skyward. Darcy pushed herself to her feet, her pain and fear merging to create that same sense of calm she had felt when she grabbed Mjolnir. She extended her good arm to help her focus on the rapidly escaping craft, and created a portal directly in its path. She slammed it shut as it passed through, severing the craft in half, and sending the pieces and occupants crashing to the ground. She stared at the smoking remains as Natasha moved past her to examine Jane and jumped when she felt fingers brush her elbow. She turned to see Steve, a thin sheen of sweat on his brow as his eyes flicked from her face to her bloodied sleeve.

"Oh...wow," she said, staring at her ruined pajama top. Steve glanced around, but seeing nothing suitable, removed his t-shirt to press it against the still bleeding cut in her arm.

She reached up to take over and he lifted his palm only to place it over hers, maintaining the pressure.

"How is she. Nat?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Respiratory rate and pulse are normal. As far as I can tell, she is fine, but sedated."

"You okay?" he asked, his attention moving back to Darcy.

"Yeah, it's just this," she breathed out, jutting her chin in the direction of their hands.

"What happened? We were fighting on the lower floors when they started to leave. Looks like the majority made it up here."

Darcy shrugged and grimaced as pain shot through her arm with the movement. She felt Steve's thumb sweep over the back of her hand and her brain stuttered at the sensation. She blinked up at him, his clear blue eyes staring right back, looking surprisingly earnest.

 _Stop it. You're imagining things. Wait, what did he ask again?_

"It was Jane. They were after her. I heard a struggle in her room and one of those things had her so I brought us up here. That's pretty much it until you all came in."

"All clear here?" asked T'Challa, coming through the door with Wanda and Scott behind him.

"Yeah," replied Steve, his hand dropping to his side. "All are either dead or escaped."

"Same below."

Steve moved to where Jane lay and picked her up. "Let's get her down to the med bay. You too," he said nodding at Darcy.

She followed behind as they made their way down the stairs.

"Why do you think they want Jane?"

Steve frowned, "Whatever it is, it's not good."


	12. Chapter 12

"What! Why?"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Lewis. You cannot be allowed to see Ms. Foster-"

"Doctor Foster," corrected Darcy.

"-until we have established that what she was hit with is not a biological weapon and does not pose a threat to the others on this base."

"I'll be fine! You have to-"

"I'm sorry, but I must insist," he said and the military official held up his hand, blocking her access to the levels of the medical ward.

"I..." said Darcy, furiously pointing her finger in his face, "will figure something out."

She stormed off, looking for either Steve or King T'Challa to rectify the situation. Jane, the friend who had dropped everything in her life to come with Darcy to Africa... Darcy just couldn't leave her alone... She checked all the common areas, ignoring the questioning looks from Sam and Wanda as she burst through every door just to look around, huff, and storm back out. She exhausted all the usual locations before she found herself standing in front of the Captain's door, hesitation stopping her fist where it hovered.

"He's not there," came a feminine voice behind her.

Darcy screamed and jumped, pressing her back against the Captain's door to see Natasha looking back at her, arms folded over her chest and appearing faintly amused.

"Steve's out for a run."

Darcy straightened, slightly embarrassed at herself for her reaction. "I didn't see him down in the gym."

"He doesn't run in the gym," Natasha said as she started to walk to a bank of windows at the end of the hall and jerked her head for Darcy to follow. She pointed one perfectly manicured finger to a break in the trees far in the distance. "There's a small lake, just there. That's where he's gone. He should be back in a couple of hours."

"In the jungle?"

Natasha smirked. "I'm sure he'll be fine." She turned to face Darcy more fully. "You did well last night."

Darcy scoffed and pointed to her bandaged arm. "Fifteen stitches say otherwise."

Natasha lifted her shirt revealing a large twisted scar on her abdomen. "You look like an Avenger to me." She turned and left Darcy blinking in the setting sun. "I'll tell Steve you were looking for him."

* * *

Darcy paced her room, frustrated that she still hadn't been able to speak to Steve about Jane's condition. Her fingers buzzed in agitation and she stopped short, bringing her hands up to her line of sight, a sudden idea formulating.

 _It would only be a moment, just to make sure she's still okay..._

She focused, trying to recall her glimpse of the med ward and created a portal as best she could estimate Jane's location. She stepped through but had misjudged the height and stumbled on her exit, catching herself on her hands she fell to the ground. She groaned as her stitches pulled.

 _I think I'm just going to have to get used to falling... kinda my signature move now._

She stood, dusting off her palms and looked around, disappointed to see she had drastically missed her desired location. It appeared she had portaled into one of the lower floors of the compound as there were no windows and the walls were heavily reinforced. A steady thrum at her back had her turning around and her mouth fell open in shock.

"Oh god..." she breathed out, the condensation from her breath floating in front of her. "What have they done..."

* * *

Steve had just knocked on Darcy's door for the second time when he received an alert that Level 13 had been breached.

 _Bucky..._

He sprinted to the stairwell, thinking of the possibilities. Had Bucky woken and escaped? Were those creatures back? Had giving Tony their location as a show of good faith been a mistake?

His phone buzzed as he reached the keypad to the room that housed the cryo unit. A quick look told him it was from Natasha and it vibrated twice more in quick succession.

 _Viewing security footage now._

 _It's Lewis._

 _Looks unintentional._

He sighed in relief and punched in the key code, quickly descending the stairs to the area that held Bucky secure. He slowed when he saw Darcy standing in front of the cryopod using her sleeve to wipe away frost from the glass.

"Darcy, what are you doing here?" he asked, expecting her to give a sheepish smile or back away apologetically. Instead, she didn't even look in his direction and just stepped away from the tank with a disturbed look shadowing her features.

"What are you doing to him?" she asked quietly.

Steve looked from her to the pod and back again. "We put him into cryo sleep for safety reasons."

She said nothing and just backed away further, her brow still furrowed.

"Do you know who that is?" he asked.

"Of course I do," she replied, her voice clipped. "He was all over the news along with you guys."

"Then you know why we had to do this."

Darcy shook her head adamantly, her fists balling at her sides. "This... this is not what you do to the mentally ill. You do not lock them away or sedate them out of any meaningful quality of life.. This isn't the 1940s. Or should we just give him a lobotomy while we're at it? That would be the 'safest' option."

Steve visibly bristled. "It's just until we find a cure."

"Cure?" she asked, unable to keep the derision out her tone and whirled around to face him fully. "Like a pill? A special potion? Or maybe a magic spell?" She wiggled her fingers in the air. "He was mind controlled, drugged, and forced to do terrible things. There's no magic that's going to ever make that go away. He needs evaluation by a qualified psychiatrist...exposure therapy... maybe even mood stabilizers until the cognitive behavioral stuff is effective. And DON'T give him back the murder arm until he's better."

"What? I... He..." Steve stumbled over his words, his face flushing and feeling indignant. He did not like the idea of Bucky stuck in suspension down here either but there were other things to consider. "Do you even know what you're talking about?"

Her eyes narrowed. "However much I know, it's obviously more than you." She scoffed, folding her arms over her chest. "The military's never had a great track record dealing with mental illness."

" _HE_ requested this."

"People with depression or PTSD just want it to stop. You're not giving him a chance at any type of life, good or bad. And it is wrong."

Something cold and burning seared through Steve heart, the feeling leeching into his words. "You don't get to take a five minute assessment of a complicated issue and pass judgement. "

"I-"

"Your opinion is not wanted or needed," he said coolly, and stepped to the side to clear her way to the exit.

She hesitated, practically bouncing on her toes before shooting him a furious glare and marching past him. He did not turn to watch her go or follow her out, instead keeping his back rigid and eyes focused on an unnamed spot. She did not see the slump in his posture as the door slammed shut.


	13. Chapter 13

Steve flicked the sweat from his brow as he returned his attention back to the bag, the smacks of his bare fists echoing throughout the gym as they punctuated his thoughts.

 _I have been fighting to bring Bucky back since I got on Howard's plane._

*thud* *thud* *thud*

 _I'm all he's got left._

*thud* *thud* *thud*

 _The only one..._

*thud*

 _...who gives a damn about Bucky..._

*thud*

 _...and not just containing the Winter Soldier._

*thud* *thud*

 _For her to..._

*thud* *thud*

 _I didn't want him to do it..._

*thud* *thud*

 _I didn't want any of this!_

The individual strikes blended together as the force and rapidity of each increased until a ripping seam had him straightening from his fighting stance. His hands dropped to his sides and he breathed heavily for reasons that had little to do with exertion. He turned as the door swung open and Sam entered. His friend didn't say anything, and instead just picked up the target pads and joined Steve, his hands raised for him to continue. Steve nodded his thanks and struck out, this time holding back on the force behind it. Sam still grimaced at the contact despite his effort.

"I ran into Darcy not long ago..." Sam started after a few minutes.

Steve just grunted an acknowledgement, keeping his expression neutral.

"She was arguing with one of the guards at the medical ward. Said they wouldn't let her see Jane."

Steve stopped his movements and straightened. "What? Why?"

"Guy said the doctor was worried about a biological weapon and no visitors were allowed."

"I'm pretty sure one of us would have shown effects by now if that were the case."

Sam nodded. "That's what she said but the guard wouldn't let her go. Said he doesn't make the rules, he just enforces them."

"I'll have a word with T'Challa. See if there's something going on that I don't know about."

"Yeah, I asked Darcy why she didn't just go find you in the first place and she said, and I quote, 'I'm not talking to Captain Jackass right now'. Then Natasha told me about Level 13 and I find you down here working on that bag like it owes you money."

Steve sighed and grabbed his towel from the bench before sitting down.

"Do you think putting Bucky back under was right?"

Sam's hands dropped, his shoulders rising and falling heavily. "I understand why he thought it was the best option. And I understand why everyone allowed it."

"Sam."

"What's the end game, Steve? No matter who you hope he'll eventually be, when you wake him up, all the damage is going to be there. Is the plan to freeze him every time he regresses? Subject him to the same thing they did to control him over and over again? Doesn't sound like much of a plan to me."

Steve leaned forward and ran his fingers through his hair before resting his elbows on his knees. "Darcy thinks he needs a psychiatrist, mood stabilizers, and cognitive therapy."

Sam dropped the target mats and sat beside Steve on the bench. "That sounds reasonable."

"The last therapist wasn't so great."

Sam winced, thinking of Zemo and his stolen identity. "I'll talk to T'Challa and I'll vet anyone he recommends first before they even lay eyes on James. It won't happen again."

Steve clapped a hand on Sam's shoulder in a show of thanks before pushing himself up. He was nearly at the door when Sam spoke again.

"Did Lewis study psychology?"

"No, Political Science."

Sam's face screwed up in confusion. "How does she know so much about PTSD then?"

Steve searched his memory for any clues in their conversations but came up empty.

"No clue..." he said and backed toward the exit. "I'll catch you later, Sam. Got some things I've got to discuss with the King."

* * *

"Damn it!" hissed Darcy as she rolled her ankle on a particularly ill-timed pass through a portal. She hobbled to the side of the trampoline and flexed her extremity several times, testing to make sure it was okay. It was tender but no swelling.

 _No permanent damage,_ she thought.

"You are here awfully early."

Darcy looked up to see Barton enter the gym and she scowled. "Are you disappointed to see I am punishing myself quite fine without any of your help?"

Barton chuckled. "You know, I consider you good practice for when Lila gets to teenage years."

"Sadist," she muttered just loud enough for him to hear before smiling good-naturedly at him. Despite all her grumbling about Barton's love of torture, she was becoming quite fond of the archer and his matter of fact approach to the world.

"I was looking for you. Word's come down that the quarantine has been lifted. Dr. Foster is awake and would like to see you."

Darcy straightened, her ankle forgotten. "Seriously?"

Barton nodded and stepped aside as Darcy flew past him. She paused, her hand still on the door frame. "Hey, I think I'm ready to try this thing large scale," she said with a nod toward the trampoline.

"No problem."

She flashed him a grateful smile and darted down the hallway to the medical ward. She waved to the security guard who had previously barred her entrance, practically skipping into Jane's room. The astrophysicist was already buzzing around the room, pulling on her flannel button up shirt as she held a pen between her teeth.

"Jane, should you be up and moving already?"

Jane rolled her eyes as she twisted her hair into a bun before sticking the pen in to hold it up. "I'm fine. Really, getting knocked out cold is the least exciting thing that's happened to me in the past three years. Did I miss anything while I was out? "

"No, not really, unless you count how I found the Winter Soldier in deep freeze and yelled at Captain America about it."

"Wait, what?"

Darcy sat heavily on the bed. "It's been such a whirlwind since we got here, I hadn't even thought about Barnes and where he could be. I tried to sneak in to see you but missed and ended up on one of the more secure levels and I found him. Captain said Barnes himself asked to be cryogenically frozen until it was safe."

"And you disagreed?"

"The way I see it, there are only two possibilities. Either he willingly did those horrible things and murdered all those people or he didn't. If he did, then he should be in jail. If he didn't, then he deserves help instead of waiting until some magical fix all cure falls out of the sky. The psychological damage he must have endured, seeing what he's seen... he needs real, intense treatment or...he might..." Darcy's voice trailed off and Jane came to sit by her.

"I know it's hard and I know why this is so important to you. I'm proud you spoke up. "

"I think the Captain might hate me now."

"I'm sure he doesn't-"

"He looked so pissed off at me, Jane."

"Well, I can guarantee you weren't the picture of serenity, either. I've seen you argue, Darcy. There's lots of sarcasm and finger waggling."

Darcy buried her face in her palms. "This is not good."

"Did you mean what you told him?"

"Yes."

"Do you still stand by what you said?"

"Of course."

"Well, okay then."

Darcy gave a small smile, remembering the near identical conversation she had with Jane after she had decided to leave Thor. "I'm glad I was your only applicant, too."

Jane rolled her eyes before giving Darcy a friendly bump with her shoulder. "Thanks for your help with that...creature...thing...the other night."

"Any idea why they were after you?"

Jane shrugged. "I'm not even sure that they were, let alone why."

"They looked pretty intent to me."

"I don't know, Darcy," she replied, her voice sounding tense and her face pinched in that way Darcy recognized as Jane being particularly troubled.

Darcy sighed and decided to change the topic for Jane's sake. "I told Barton I was ready to start field testing these portal things. If Thanos is upping the time frame, then I've got to start pushing myself harder and learn everything I can about what I can do."

"When?"

"Sometime in the next few days."

Jane nodded, pulling her notebook from the side table.

"Alright let's get a game plan, then."

* * *

"This is not a good look for me," said Darcy as she stared at her reflection. Her hair was pulled up in a frizzy bun and she wore a pair of huge safety goggles that had been borrowed from Sam's flight gear.

"It doesn't matter how you look. They're practical and will keep you from going blind," said Jane looking over Darcy's shoulder at her into the gym mirror.

"I look like Professor Trelawney made a very misguided attempt to switch careers."

"I don't think I know her. Did she teach at Culver?"

"Nevermind, Jane."

"Well, you can't wear that," spoke up Natasha, gesturing to her oversized t-shirt and yoga pants.

"Why not? This is what I workout in."

"You're going to have to wear something form-fitting. It lowers the risk of extraneous material getting caught in equipment or obscuring your view while you're moving through the air."

"Got it. The 'no capes' clause." She looked back at the woman, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "And by form-fitting you don't mean like your uniform, right?" she asked, anxiety creeping into her voice at the thought of wearing something that skin-tight.

"I was thinking more of a flight suit, like jet pilots wear." She started texting rapidly on her phone. "We'll borrow one for today and if you like the look and maneuverability, we can have one made to fit you with vibranium weave. There," She said putting away her phone. "They should be bringing one over shortly. I'm going to go find Wanda and we'll be waiting for you when you're ready."

Darcy lifted her goggles and wrung her hands as she looked back at Jane. "Maybe we should go over it one more time."

"First, you're going to create two portals that face down-"

"I'll go through the one at my feet and use them to gain speed."

"Then, when you're ready, after you leave the higher portal, you'll verse it's direction, aiming it toward the sky."

"I can oscillate between the two, learning how the shifts in gravity will effect me and my proprioception."

"From here, you can move the portals, falling from greater heights and see if you're okay with it. You'll have an earpiece in and be connected to both myself and Wanda's so let her know if you're having any distress or disorientation and she will lower you to he ground."

The door to the gym opened and her flight suit was hand delivered. Darcy inhaled deeply, wiping her clammy palms onto her pants and flicked the goggles back over her face as she moved to the locker room.

"Showtime."


	14. Chapter 14

Wanda looked up at the sky before turning back to Darcy with a nod. "Ready when you are," she said through the mic, her voice coming out clear in Darcy's earpiece. Jane gave a thumbs up to confirm hers was working as well before she went back to fiddling with her recording instruments. Sam stood in full gear opposite Wanda to lend aid if need be. He gave her a reassuring smile before sliding his goggles over his eyes.

Darcy stepped out into the clearing and raised her arm above her head. She heard Sam give a low whistle as the air undulated far above them, slowing as the portal stabilized. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jane slam her fist down on some random piece of technology. She took a steadying breath before focusing on the ground. Even though she knew it was coming, she couldn't help the yelp that escaped her as it disintegrated beneath her feet. It wasn't long until the wind was a deafening roar and she closed her eyes, trying to push down the nausea as she concentrated on maintaining the portals. She shifted her weight forward to accelerate head first.

"Darcy?" she heard Jane ask over the com.

"Yeah?"

"Are you ready?"

"Just a sec..."

She allowed herself to pass through several more times, working up the nerve to reverse the aim of the exit portal to the sky.

"Darcy?"

"I know, Jane. I know."

"You're at terminal velocity. You have to slow yourself down using the portal. Wanda can try, but traveling this fast, you still risk a deceleration injury."

"I know, Jane!"

The line went quiet again and Darcy passed through the ground portal once more, this time, reaching behind her to reset the exit straight up to the sky. The wind whistled past as the ground portal rushed up to meet her and she braced herself as she slipped through once again. Her stomach lurched with the vertigo that came from the sudden reversal of gravity.

"Oh God," she muttered.

"It's just the G-forces, Darcy. You're well within safety range. You shouldn't lose consciousness... well, at least not from that."

"What a relief!" shouted Darcy, not feeling the least bit so as she continued to rocket upward. After a few seconds, she started to slow, the noise quieting, and she finally dared to look elsewhere besides straight ahead. Her breath was stolen away at the view. A wispy fog was settled over the canopy of the surrounding rain forest, the setting sun scattering into beams and washing the landscape into beautiful golden hues. She had a sudden feeling of dissociation, her body weightless as her velocity edged to zero.

It was amazing and terrible all at once, a thin sheen of tears springing too her eyes but she found she couldn't make a sound.

A crackle of static from her ear piece broke the spell and she flailed as gravity once again took over and she plummeted to the ground.

 _Shit, shit shit_ , she cursed as the uncoordinated movement caused her to spin, her legs tumbling overhead.

"Darcy! The equipment is not detecting any portals! What's going on?"

 _Oh... well... just... Fuck._

Panic was at the edge of her thoughts and she he breathed deeply, remembering all of her practice with Barton. She stretched out her limbs and arched her back, allowing her to stabilize as the ground was starting to come uncomfortably close. A flash of red shot past her, briefly encompassing her vision.

"Darcy!" she heard Jane screech into the com.

"I got it, Jane!"

She recreated the portal on the ground, tossing its sister portal high in the air seconds before she passed through. This time she was prepared for the gravitational shift and waited for the weightlessness again, her arms going out to her sides and over her head. The momentum, allowed her to dive backwards and a giddy rush passed over her body as she headed down again.

This was insane... this was madness... where as just moments ago, she felt dissociated, she now felt more in contact with her senses than ever before...the burn of the cold air in her lungs, the sheen on her exposed skin where the wind ghosted around her, the thrum of her heartbeat that extended and pulsed in every extremity...

She let out an involuntary whoop of exhilaration as she neared the ground again, her friends a blur as she flew past. Higher and higher she set her portals until she was soaring through the clouds.

"Too high, Darcy! There's not enough oxygen at that level of the atmosphere!"

As Jane's warning registered, her limbs started to feel tremulous and the giddiness had progressed to full on lightheadedness. This time when she slowed to a stop, she created a portal underneath her, dropping herself just a few feet above her original take off site. She stumbled, her legs feeling unsteady and the remaining air was knocked from her lungs as Jane tackled her with a squeal before letting her go and shoving her hard in the shoulders. She was steadied by Wanda who slipped up behind her.

"You scared the shit out of me, Darcy! Oh, wait, the data!" exclaimed the astrophysicist, running back to the bank of machines.

"Come on," said Wanda, steering her to a waiting seat. "How was it?"

"Amazing," she replied breathlessly.

Wanda smiled. "I felt much the same the first time I flew, even though it was only a couple feet at a time."

"Oh yeah?"

She nodded. "I don't think my attempt got near the dramatic response that yours did. I'm not sure who was... what's the saying...'having kittens' more, Jane or the Captain."

Darcy's eyes snapped up trying to inconspicuously scan her surroundings. "Wait, the Captain, he was here?"

"Yes," she replied, also looking around. "Well, he was just a minute ago. He is usually around for field exercises."

"Oh yeah... that makes sense," she replied, feeling absurd that she assumed anything other than professionalism motivated the Captain's presence. She pushed back to her feet and excused herself, refusing to name the disappointment that settled over her.

 _Oh, to hell with everything else,_ she thought, a small smile playing on her lips.

 _I can fly._

* * *

Steve could feel his jaw click as he ground his teeth in agitation and stepped up beside Sam in the clearing.

"She is going awfully fast," his friend muttered. "Foster?"

The doctor glanced at the two men before pressing her finger to her ear.

"Darcy?" she asked into the com. "Are you ready?"

Steve returned his attention to Darcy who was quickly becoming a blur in front of them.

"Darcy?" asked Jane again, her voice a little sharper. "You're at terminal velocity. You have to slow yourself down using the portal. Wanda can try, but traveling this fast, you still risk a deceleration injury."

Steve looked to Wanda whose hands had started to glow red in preparation. He was just about to signal her to slow her down when Darcy was suddenly gone, her body disappearing into the portal on the ground.

"There!" shouted Sam, pointing above them. "Damn."

Steve's jaw dropped when he spotted her, a dark speck against the red, orange hues of the sky.

"It's just the G-force, Darcy. You're well within safety range. You shouldn't lose consciousness... well, at least not from that."

He raised his hand to block the light to keep her in his view and his throat went dry as he saw her start to spin uncontrollably. "Foster, what's she doing?"

Jane ran over to her equipment, punching a few of the buttons vigorously before her face blanched white and she touched her ear. "Darcy! The equipment is not detecting any portals! What's going on?"

"Sam, go!" shouted Steve.

"No!" said Jane, "It will injure you both to catch her at that speed."

"She's getting close!"

"Wanda!" commanded Steve and she tried to catch her, but her timing was off and her magic barely glanced against Darcy's side

"Darcy!" Jane screeched into the com.

Steve froze as Darcy neared the ground, unable to look away and a bolt of terror struck in his chest. The relief that immediately followed as she vanished into her newly created portal was nearly staggering and he found himself literally pulling at his hair in his anxiety. Seconds later she was passing them again, a joyful shout barely heard as she cut through the air. They all watched as she flew higher and her dives became more precarious. He paced, concern rising as she disappeared into the clouds. He was just about to say something when he heard Dr. Foster.

"Too high, Darcy! There's not enough oxygen at that level of the atmosphere!"

The ground that had been shimmering with her portal solidified and Darcy dropped out of the air from a height of a few feet, ducking beneath the portal as she closed it. Steve backed away as the tiny astrophysicist slammed into her friend and he turned to quickly retreat back to the compound. He was glad the exercise had been a success but did not wish to speak with the subject. His emotions roiled through him and he pushed them down, not wanting to examine them or the reasons for their being. The memory of his conversation with Dr. Strange surfaced unbidden in his mind

 _She is either very brave or very foolish... or if you and I are extraordinarily unlucky, some unholy combination of the two._

He turned another corner, his mind set on finding Barton to give specifics on how to proceed with Darcy's training when T'Challa joined him, matching his brisk pace.

"I believe I have found a suitable physician for your friend. He trained at John Hopkins in the States and completed his psychiatry residency in 1985. He has focused his practice to treat victims of war and has extensive experience specifically treating those that started as child soldiers."

"Do you think that will be applicable to Bucky?"

"Many child soldiers are drugged and fed propaganda to force them to participate in atrocities. That is not unlike our friend, is it not?"

Steve nodded. "When can he be here?"

"Four days. We'll initiate the revitalization process this afternoon. James should be awake tomorrow. We'll notify you as he is being removed."

The king parted with a nod and Steve leaned heavily against a wall. Darcy was angry with him, Tony would be arriving any day, and now he was waking up Bucky... he longed for the day that his greatest social faux pas was not knowing what the word 'fondue' meant. Dr. Erskine had told him the serum enhanced everything about him but had left out, or maybe hadn't known, how this would seem to apply even to his emotions. His sense of justice had become more solidified with the serum, as had his commitment to never taking the easy way out or letting the end justify the means... but with that had also come this constant feeling of being a wire strung too tight with a resonance that hammered on him constantly. It took hours in the gym, or miles of running to dull it.

But neither running or taking it out on the gym bag appealed to him now and he felt a surprising pull to the unused sketchbook that lay on the bottom of his closet. He pushed back off the wall to find Barton, and if time permitted this evening, a moment to reconnect with his own type of meditation.


	15. Chapter 15

"Alright," said Jane, capping the sharpie as she stepped away from her newly drawn target on the wall. She reached up to slide her safety glasses on. "Ready when you are."

Darcy turned to the fruit aligned on the counter and one by one they entered free fall through their own portals. She waited until they were moving sufficiently fast enough and shot them at the wall attempting different angles.

"Good. You're up to ten portals at once. Only two went wide, so not bad."

"I think we're going to have to move our experiments outside soon. I need to try this on larger things in more complicated patterns... and that could get messy in here."

They were both analyzing their surroundings when they jumped as the laboratory door slammed open.

"You two, move now," announced Clint, his body language tense and jerked his head for them to follow. He was already down the hall before they caught up with him.

"Barton...Clint!" shouted Darcy, practically jogging to keep pace. "You've got quite the murder strut going on there. What gives?"

"Stark's back."

Jane and Darcy exchanged looks, both not needing words to read the simultaneous _oh shit_ in each other's eyes. Raised voices could be heard as they rounded the final corner to the conference room. Tony Stark paced his side of the table in his impeccable suit and The Vision stood at his side. The rest of the Avengers occupied the opposite end with Steve in front while T'Challa presided at the head of the table.

"Sorry I took umbrage with aligning myself with the man who killed my parents," bit out Tony.

"That was the Winter Soldier, not Bucky," replied Steve firmly.

"You sure there's a difference?"

"Should I remind you," spoke up Wanda, glaring at him, "of the role you played in the death of my family?"

Tony's face drew tight and he opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by Clint.

"I got a philosophical question for you Tony," he said, "who's the more at fault in a murder: the weapon or the one who wields it?"

"Good to see you too, Clint," muttered Tony.

"How long were you intending to leave us in that gulag?" continued Barton, ignoring him. "Ross was coming at us with charges of treason. We were all looking at twenty to life."

"It wouldn't have come to that."

Barton scoffed and looked past him to Vision who stood quietly observing. "Did he tell you where we were? They had Wanda in a straight jacket rigged to hit her with 20,000 volts. They kept her in it for a solid week until Steve busted us out. He had to carry her because she hadn't been allowed to move that entire time."

Vision's face lost it's expression of dispassionate disconnect as he blinked rapidly and glanced to Wanda for confirmation. She looked angrily away, her arms crossing over her chest. Darcy bit her lip uncomfortably and pressed her back further against the wall, feeling like an interloper on a private affair.

"Who are they?" asked Tony brusquely, pointing in her and Jane's direction.

"This, Tony, is Dr. Foster and Darcy Lewis," said Steve with a hint of warning in his tone. Tony looked from the women back to Steve and then directly at Darcy.

"Lewis? So you're the proof that I need to drop everything and join King T'Challa's School for Wayward Superheroes?"

"Well, I-"

"What exactly can you do?"

"I can, well..." she stumbled over her words with everyone's eyes on her and her palms started to sweat.

"She can change the state of atoms, including her own, allowing her to bend space between two points. This creates portals and she can travel instantaneously using them," said Jane.

"And this is a new thing you can do?"

"Yes."

"Had to ask. You never know in this day and age."

"Tony, if you could just cut the shit for two seconds-" snapped Barton.

"Me? I-"

The room devolved into shouting while Steve tried to calm everyone. Natasha stood silently at the side, her lips pursed in a frown. Vision seemed to be trying to get Wanda's attention but she was ignoring him, preferring to point her anger at Tony. The room was starting to feel cramped and over heated, and Darcy had to fight the urge to just bolt out of there.

 _Don't they see the bigger picture?_

"Crushed to death!" she shouted over the din and they quieted, turning to look at her all with slightly perplexed expressions. "You get crushed to death while still in your suit," she said in a rush, pointing to Tony before her finger swung to Vision. "He rips that thing out your forehead and you don't get up again." She made eye contact with Barton. "I don't know what he did to you. All I could see was your arm. The Captain was about to get either laser beamed to the face or his throat crushed. It was kinda a toss up on which would kill him first at the time. Thanos even killed Thor...just threw him like a rag doll. I assume the rest of you were all dead before I even made it there." Her hand dropped to her side, clenching in a fist. "I mean, what are you doing? Your shit," she shouted, her voice getting higher in pitch as she gestured to them all, "doesn't matter any more! What the hell is wrong with you?" She tripped on the trash can in her attempt to exit the room, and had to stop to put back the two coffee cups that rolled out.

"Just go," she heard Jane mutter as she took the items from her and they both darted out the door.

"Was that as bad as I think it was?" asked Darcy with a grimace once they made it down the hall.

"Yes," said Jane looking over her shoulder, "but it might have been effective. I don't hear shouting."

"Ugh... I'm going to go hide for a couple hours. Find me in the lab if you need me."

Later Darcy was lounging in a chair in the far corner of their lab, notebook in hand and earbuds in. She was trying to brainstorm new experiments to try with Jane. It wasn't absolutely necessary but it provided her an excuse to escape as, while she still thought it justified, she was a little embarrassed about her outburst earlier. A flicker of movement had her peering around the support pole, her pen dropping to the ground as she saw Tony Stark giving a suspect glare to the duct taped patch on Jane's equipment.

"That was my fault. Made a portal too large and it fell through. Still works just as well as before."

Tony checked it gently with his hip and the machine made a grinding noise before a light started to flash irritably.

"I'll take your word for it, kid." He shoved his hands in his suit pockets and ambled around the lab, looking at all the rest of the equipment.

"So... do you and Cap play a little 'capture the flag' together?" he asked waggling his eyebrows.

"Uh, what?" she said reaching for her pen and accidentally kicking it away. "Why would you-"

"Reading people is a hobby of mine. Knowing their weaknesses, their buttons, what makes them tick. It's why I was such a good businessman. Well, that and I'm a genius."

Darcy felt her face burn, embarrassed that of all people to pick up on her absurd infatuation with Steve, it had to be Tony Stark. And when had he done this? He'd barely spoken to her in the conference room.

"And this would be your business...?" she blustered, trying to cover up her mortification at the thought of him telling someone... as if her interactions with Steve weren't complicated enough.

"Oh, it's not really," he said sliding onto a nearby stool, setting his elbow on the counter and propping his cheek on his fist. "Just taking some notes. You see, Cap came back into the world six years ago with no friends, no family, essentially nothing but now he seems to be doing quite well. I'm thinking there's still time to turn this franchise around," he said, gesturing to himself. "Then again, the world is ending so maybe not..." he finished with a lazy shrug and his gaze danced around the room as if his focus couldn't be contained.

Darcy tucked her hair behind her ear, unsure of what else to say and turned back to her notebook.

"What are you listening to?" he asked taking her phone from where it sat on the counter.

"Hey!" she protested.

"The Chain," he read off the front, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"You don't like Fleetwood Mac?"

"I don't like that song," came his clipped response.

"Can't imagine why..." muttered Darcy under her breath.

"Shouldn't someone your age be listening to, I don't know, Taylor Swift?"

Darcy sat back in her chair, folding her arms over her chest. "I like Taylor Swift just fine. As a matter of fact, there's a song I strongly recommend. Called Bad Blood. You might find a cathartic."

He didn't appear to hear her. "You're all of what? Sixteen?"

"Twenty-four," she replied, frowning.

Her answer seemed to agitate him and he leaned forward. "You sure you want to do this?"

She blinked in confusion as he plowed on.

"Cause the thing nobody tells you about doing this... being us...is that once you get in, you can't get out, even if you want to. We are Atlas. Once you take your share of the weight of the world, it's a burden you cannot give back."

She shrugged. "Is there actually a choice?"

"There's always a choice."

"The world is ending, so maybe not," she parroted back to him and he gave a wry chuckle, pulling on his sunglasses from his pocket. He stood and opened the door, before calling over his shoulder. "Oh, and if you are so inclined, by all means, spend some 'shore leave' with Rogers. Maybe you can work out that stick that's been up his ass for the last eighty years."

She stared after his retreating figure, her jaw gaping like a fish. After a few minutes of unproductive staring at her blank notebook, she decided she had to get out of there. She was about to start up the stairs when she walked to the bank of windows at the end of the hall, her eyes immediately going to the clearing with the lake Natasha had told her about.

She hesitated.

 _It's nearly night fall... too late for a run. He won't be there. And if he is well, I'll just leave..._

She looked around the a hall, making sure she was alone before focusing on the clearing. She had never created a portal this far from herself but found it surprisingly easy. She stepped into the entrance portal at her side and landed softly next to the lapping water at the shore line. Kicking off her shoes, she sighed happily, enjoying the final rays of the day on her skin and inhaling the warm breeze. She eyed the water speculatively.

 _I did say I needed to practice..._


	16. Chapter 16

Steve ran, ignoring the foliage that lashed against his skin as he urged himself to maintain his top speed, his chest expanding with deep pulls of air into his lungs.. Even though the reunion of the Avengers went about as well as he could have expected, it was still far beneath what he had hoped. Vision had barely spoken, instead quietly listening as the more irate of Steve's team expressed their frustrations. And Tony...

The man was infuriating, with most of their interactions feeling like nails on a chalkboard inside Steve's skull. But he couldn't write him off... Tony was a brother in arms, a bond that isn't easily broken and as Howard's son, was one of the last ties to Steve's previous life. He felt a sting of shame cut through him as he thought of Howard and him seeing what transpired among them.

He stopped, realizing he was near the lake and took a few breaths, easily recovering from his exertion despite pushing himself. Tipping his head toward the moonlight, he tried to relax and let the tension of the day fall away from him. He enjoyed coming here when the confines of the compound felt like too much to let the cooler wind clear his head. He walked closer through the underbrush, pausing when he heard a rush of water in the usually quiet surroundings. Peering through the dense fronds, his eyebrows shot up as he saw a small waterfall originating from the open sky..

His throat went dry.

 _Darcy_.

Scanning the area he found her shoe-less on the far side of the shore, her hands outstretched and a look of focus on her face. She looked surreal in that moment, the moonlight making her pale skin glow and her dark curls stirring gently in the breeze. He watched mesmerized as several thin flowing columns of water rose from the surface to dance around the larger one in the center. They jumped and dived, twining around one another, each stopping and starting with flicks of her wrists. All at once it stopped, the water starting to swirl as if a plug had been pulled from the bottom. Steve looked up in time to see a massive amount of water crash into the center of the lake, the wake sloshing up the sides of the bank. She seemed to relax then and tilted her head as if considering something before reaching to pull her long shirt off, leaving her clad in leggings and a tank top. Steve spun away, face burning and feeling like a voyeur... but he couldn't just leave her there, not with the recent attack and all the uncertainty of their situation. He turned back, telling himself that he should announce his presence but was stunned to see the shoreline bare except for her discarded shoes and shirt. He spotted a rippling section of air and stepped closer. It was difficult but he could just barely see her, a sliver, as if peering through a door jam. He wasn't entirely sure of what she was doing but the moving air then touched the water and it swirled around as the column sunk deeper and deeper into the waves. He frowned as it disappeared underneath, his heart starting to quicken in his chest, and he pushed through the final tree line to the stand at the shore. His eyes scaned the waves, him no longer caring if she spotted him. He started to pace after a minute passed, unused to this level of indecision.

 _If she's stuck down there...if she is and you wait much longer, she'll die. If she's fine, she'll just be mildly inconvenienced... you've already wasted enough time._

He kicked off his shoes and yanked his shirt off in his sudden haste before diving into the water.

* * *

Darcy flexed her toes in the sandy bottom of the lake. The water was surprising clear this evening, the moonlight shooting down in beams straight through to her depth. She felt a rush of cold at her feet as her concentration lapsed and water started to stream in between the seam of the two portals she had wrapped around herself. With a muttered curse, she quickly pulled them together close enough to touch, and the flow stopped.

"It's like a reverse aquarium" she whispered to herself, near giddy as she watched some fish pass through one portal on her left and exit through the one on the right. She stepped deeper into the water, looking up at the surface far above her head when a large shadow briefly blocked out the light. Swallowing thickly and shoring up her portals, she backed away, feeling a little prick of fear as she lost sight of whatever that thing was that had crossed her path.

 _It's can't see me with the portals... it would just see more water..._

Turning slowly in a circle, she scanned everything within her sight, the previously playful streams of light now looking sinister. And then, as quickly has it had passed before, the figure was back and nearly upon her. Her concentration faltered and the portals failed, the sudden deluge slamming into her from all sides. She didn't even have a chance to take in a breath before she was blind and suffocating. She pushed off the gritty bottom, her legs pumping and arms reaching frantically into the water above her. What little breath she had left was stolen as something large and firm banded around her waist and in her desperation she created a portal at her feet. She felt it squeeze her even tighter as they were tugged downward into the spinning vortex of water.

They entered air feet first, dropping to the ground below and she shut the portal to stop the rest of the lake from drowning her on land. Thinking of her training she drove her elbow into whatever held her from behind and yelped when she was met with solid, unyielding muscle. Nevertheless, the thing's gripped slackened and she scampered away a safe distance before turning, prepared to fight.

Her hands dropped limply to her sides as she saw Steve roll over to push himself to his feet.

"You!" She screeched.

"Are you-" he started to ask.

"What the hell, man! I thought you were Cthulhu or something from another dimension come to kill me."

"I was out for a run when I saw you go into the water. I started to worry when you didn't come back up."

"I was fine until you decided to go all HP Lovecraft!"

"Look, I'm sorry. I've never seen you do that before so I wasn't sure you were okay and I thought it best to check."

She huffed and pushed some wet strands behind her ear. "It's..." she said with a sigh and her shoulders sagged. She did not particularly have the desire to fight again with Steve and honestly, she could see how it looked dire from his perspective. "It's fine. You were just trying to help," she said with a small wave in the air.

"Are you okay?"

She did a quick mental check on herself. Her ankle that she had twisted days ago hadn't particularly liked the fall but was okay and her middle where he had held her felt sore but she could breathe easily and doubted any ribs were broken.

"A few new bruises but other than that, yes."

They both shifted awkwardly in place, neither really looking at one another. Darcy glanced down at her now soaked clothes and bit the inside of her cheek as she plucked them away from her body.

"Well, I'm just gonna go now," she said, taking a step toward her shoes.

"I'm sorry, Darcy," he said his arm extending to halt her steps and his tone low and unsure. "I'm sorry for the way our last conversation went. You brought up some good points and I could have done a better job hearing you out "

"Oh," she replied quietly, not expecting this turn of events. "I'm sorry too... not about what I said, exactly... but I could have gone about it a better way. And I shouldn't have insinuated you didn't care about your friend."

She glanced up, surprised to see the small smile she had grown accustomed to return to his face and a drop of water slipped from his hair, catching her attention. It rolled down his neck to the hollow of his throat before collecting with others to spill down his chest in rivulets between his abs. His water logged jogging pants were slung low on his hips and she jerked her gaze away, mortified at her open ogling.

 _You lecherous idiot...there's no way he didn't notice that and even if he didn't your face is so red, airplanes could land at night using it as a beacon. Fuck... my... life..._

She chanced a look in his direction, surprised to see him staring at the ground, his ears burning as red as her face was and she internally groaned. Wanting to give her dignity a chance to recover, she walked to her shoes and bent to slide them on. Steve had already retrieved her shirt before she straightened.

"Can we talk?" he asked stepping close to her, extending his arm to give back the shirt. Her head was even with his chest and she had to crane her neck back to look at him.

"Now?" she croaked, taking her shirt from him, somewhat proud she managed to form words this close to a half-naked and glistening Steve Rogers.

"Yes."

"Can I get into some dry clothes first?" she asked and a shiver ran through her as the breeze picked up. It didn't miss his attention and he frowned, his Captain-America-all-business face sliding right over his expression.

"We need to get you back. Can you portal out?"

"I can," she replied quickly, clutching her shirt to her chest.

"Go on and I'll meet you in about an hour. Ok?"

She nodded and stepped away to teleport back to her floor. The exertion of the multiple portals she had created throughout the day was catching up with her and it took two attempts to successfully make it back to her room. She stripped once she was in the doorway, not wanting to drip water all over the place and tiptoed to the bathroom, plucking some grass from her hair as she went.

It wasn't until she was sorting through her paltry choices of clothing that it occurred to her that Steve Rogers was coming to her apartment...to talk... at night.

 _Nope. Don't be ridiculous. The world's hottest nonagenarian just wants to discuss protocol for leaving the compound and how to avoid your insubordination in the future._

Against her wishes, her brain tossed up the image of Steve as he was at the lake, shirtless and a little breathless...

She banged her head on the door jam of the closet.

 _Dear God, if I could just get through this without completely humiliating myself, that would be great._

She pulled on her favorite sweatshirt and jeans before stopping in the bathroom to run a comb through her still wet hair. Twenty minutes later she was sitting on sofa, only half paying attention to the old movie on TV and nervously fidgeting with her fingers when there was a knock at the door. She pulled it open to find Steve dressed similarly casual and she stepped back to let him in.

"So," she said folding her legs back up on the sofa, "what did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to tell you that we woke Bucky up," he said, seating himself on the other end.

Her eyes widened but she remained silent, letting him continue.

"He wasn't very happy about it when he came to but with some coaxing he agreed to meet with a psychiatrist hand picked by T'Challa and vetted by Sam. It's only been a couple of days but we're moving forward with the treatment plan. I'm hoping in a couple of weeks he'll start socializing."

"How do you think that's going to go with Tony?"

"I think it may actually help. Right now, it's easier for Tony to think of him as this faceless monster but if he gets to know Bucky... maybe he'll start seeing the separation between the two."

Darcy smiled, "I look forward to meeting him."

Steve smirked and looked to the ceiling. "He'll like you."

"Your friend have a fondness for short brunettes with grating voices?" she asked.

"No. Just the ones who give me a really hard time."

"I'm not always so disagreeable. Just ask Jane... wait. On second thought, don't."

"No, like I said, you had some good points. The signs were all there, I just didn't see them. Can I ask how you know so much about PTSD?"

Darcy bit her lip and searched his features for any signs of duplicity but saw nothing but his open expression and gentleness in his gaze. He seemed to sense her hesitance.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked-"

"My mom," said Darcy, swallowing thickly as she looked down to her hands. "She was a doctor... in the Emergency Department... and there was this house fire with a family of five with young kids. She didn't do anything wrong. She did everything she could, actually . But it was a small ER and it was a lot of critically ill patients. They still died. She struggled with it for a while and we were working on it. The panic attacks had stopped, she was seeing her psychiatrist. Months went by and I thought she was okay. Not cured, but I thought she was doing better..." She sighed, "I came home after a couple weeks in college and I found her. Coroner said she injected herself with potassium that she had taken from the hospital."

She glanced up, expecting to see him looking uncomfortable but instead he seemed to be assessing her, adding this new piece of information to what he already knew.

"I'm fine now, so you don't have to worry...well, that's not true. No one's ever fine after that but I've been through loads of therapy and I've reached a point of peace with it. I just wanted to be honest with you." She wasn't sure why she added the last part and bit her lip again.

"Thank you" was his only reply but it was kindly said.

She waited for him to stand and leave, similar to most of their interactions in the past.

"What are you watching?" he asked with a nod at the muted television.

"Oh, its... uh..." she stumbled, her eyes darting between him and the TV. "Arsenic and Old Lace. Its actually pretty amazing. These two old ladies kill these old guys, but its a comedy, I swear." He looked at the television, unsure.

"Wanna watch?" The words spilled from her lips before she could stop them. This was ... she had been so close to not putting her foot in her-

"Sure."

She hit play on the movie and settled in. The next morning, Darcy wasn't sure of when she fell asleep but she woke with a pillow under her head, a blanket around her shoulders, and a note on her coffee table.

 _Raincheck?_


	17. Chapter 17

Steve sat back from his desk, his palms going to settle on either side of the sketch he had just completed. Done rapidly with pencil, it bordered on abstract but he knew exactly what was on the page... her bare arms, the curl of her hair, the slope of her calf...He wished he'd the courage to draw her as she had looked that night at the lake but instead settled for this, thinking that once on paper, she would stop infiltrating his thoughts. He recalled the moment something seemed to turn over within him, just after they had collapsed on the shore of the lake.

He shook the water from his eyes as he pushed himself to his feet thinking using that portal had been fairly clever and looked up in time to see her scramble away from him. She had turned, arms raised, a determined ferocity so familiar it was almost startling.

He had seen it first in the eyes of his mother throughout his sickly childhood, then again in Peggy as she stared down that barreling taxi after Erskine's experiment, and most recently in Natasha when she chose to attack T'Challa instead at the airport. It was the expression of a woman who had the will to change the world. In that instant he could almost see it, how she could lift Mjolnir to save them from Thanos.

Since then he couldn't help but notice the things he'd kept just at the peripheral of his thoughts.. vibrant blue eyes with long lashes, full lips, and a figure that could rival those cartoon pin ups some of the boys had on them in the war.

He closed the book and tucked it away into a drawer, frustrated with his lack of focus. It served no purpose, noise that would just complicate an already extraordinarily complex situation. Looking for distraction, he made his way down to Bucky's quarters on the far side of the compound, and as far from Tony as possible.

He rapped on the door, knowing Bucky would have already discerned it was him. He let himself in when he got no response pushing the door open slowly as to not startle Bucky in the unlikely scenario he had not heard him. His heart rate picked up as he took in the darkened room.

"Bucky?" He called out, voice just above speaking level and was met with a sharp "shhhh!" from the other side of the sofa. More curious than worried now, he stepped around the furniture.

"Buck, what are you doing?" He asked, his voice trailing off. His friend was leaning against the sofa, staring intently at a...was that...

"Is that a parrot? " he asked dumbfounded.

Bucky gave him a side eye of annoyance but went back to staring at the grey bird that was looking at him with equal wariness. It occasionally flapped its wings, one of which was bandaged, in agitation.

"Dr. Kemara thought it might help me rehabilitate," he grumbled, a look of uncertainty flashing over his usually flat affect. "I was feeding him when he got out and he won't come to me."

"What's wrong with his wing?"

"Injured in a trap and severed some tendons so he can't fly." Bucky glanced at his own amputation. "A little on the nose, don't you think?"

Steve shrugged. "Well, you've always been thick headed. Maybe he wanted to be sure you got the point?" he asked.

Bucky's head whipped around, a look of disbelief on his face. "Me, the thick one? I thought you couldn't count for the longest time considering how often I found you getting your ass kicked by whole groups of people in fights that _you_ started."

Steve winced as he joined Bucky on the floor. "Yeah, well, some things stay the same I suppose."

They both watched the bird for a moment as it continued to twist and bob its head.

"So what's the plan?"

"If I try to catch him, he could injure himself more trying to escape and even if I do, I may crush him if I'm not careful." He gestured between himself and the bird. "So, this is the plan."

A few beats of silence passed before Steve spoke again. "How are you liking Dr. Kemara?"

"He's qualified, I'll say that. He said we could try medication but he was uncertain with my increased metabolism if they would be effective. So, therapy, in all its glorious forms."

"What about 'the words'? How does he plan to keep you from getting set off in the future?"

"He's recruited Romanov to compile the words that had been used to control me. Each day I'll read one and we'll take breaks if I start having any ill effects. Then we'll move to me speaking them aloud. And then Natasha will read them to me, in Russian, individually. After that well start combining them and hopefully, eventually I'll be able to hear them all."

Steve nodded. "Immersion, expose it to you little by little and see if you can counteract the effects."

"And if later, I recall other triggers, we can work through them as well. If nothing else, maybe breaking the conditioned response to one may make me less susceptible to others."

Steve nodded, pleased with the plan.

"And of course there's the bird...though why I couldn't just have a hobby..."

"Didn't your grandma teach you how to knit that one summer?" he asked, remembering that time Buck's parents were on the verge of busting up so he went away for a bit.

"Yea well, you all won't let me have any sharp objects," he said without any venom, "Also, a person needs two arms to knit."

"So the bird."

"The bird," Buck confirmed.

Bucky straightened his legs, settling in to his position before looking at Steve. "So whats up with you? You usually don't come down here til the afternoon."

"Honestly? Hiding for a bit. It's not exactly pleasant out there right now. "

Bucky bit the inside of his cheek and looked at Steve shrewdly. "You and Stark have never really gotten on."

He rubbed his face. "It's that new team member."

Bucky's eyebrow lifted, "The one that started all this time reset stuff?"

"Yes. She's reckless, and stubborn. I found her out in the jungle a couple of nights ago, and she didn't tell anyone. And she tried a new thing where she goes into the water.. .I can't really explain it but she looked like she was going to drown... What? What's that look for?"

"Oh, nothing. Just amused that there's a person you feel responsible for that doesn't really listen to you and keeps putting themself in dangerous situations. Tell me more about what's that like."

Steve scowled at him and Bucky gave a soft laugh.

"I guess that's one more thing that's changed. Now you're the one taking care of me, trying to keep me out of trouble."

"I'm just glad you're back. When I saw you fall from the train, I never thought I'd see you again."

"Steve, that guy's never coming back. I'm not the same person."

"I know. Neither am I. Returning to the world... lets just say it hasn't exactly felt like the miracle the news touted it to be."

Bucky chuckled again, this time with far less humor. "You can say that again." They lapsed into a companionable silence until Steve spoke again.

"You want me to try to get him for you?"

"No, he's got to learn to trust me."

"What do you call him?"

Bucky grinned, looking infinitely pleased with himself. "I named him Sam."

"Buck... he's going to hate it."

"Yes, yes he will."


	18. Chapter 18

"That..." said Jane, nodding toward the lab windows that faced the hall, "doesn't look good."

Darcy glanced up from her work to see Wanda speaking intensely to Vision, who had taken to going around in a more human appearance. Though they could not hear them, their body language was clear. She jammed her finger into his chest and he winced before she turned and stalked away. He hesitated before taking off after her and out of their sight.

"I didn't know they were together before the Accords."

"I don't think they were."

"Certainly looks like they were."

"If just dating one is difficult, a stable relationship among two Avengers seems impossible," mused Jane, pulling back down her magnifying loops to tinker with her equipment.

Darcy couldn't help the disappointment she felt at Jane's statement. "You really think so?"

Jane's hands stopped mid-motion, her eyes staring unseeingly forward before snapping to her friend, owlishly large in her spectacles. "Why?"

Darcy tapped her foot in an agitated manner and started to doodle aimlessly on her notebook.

"Why, Darcy?" insisted Jane.

"I might have a tiny... minuscule... barely-there... thing for Steve Rogers." She sat back, grimacing and waiting for the onslaught of logical reasoning from Jane to convince her this was all a bad idea.

"Since when?"

"Like day two of being here."

"Well... does he seem to reciprocate?"

Darcy snorted. "Does using his shirt to stop my arm from bleeding count?"

Jane pushed the loops up to rest on her forehead to think it over. "Maybe. I'm not really the best at reading people. Anything else?"

"Wait, no 'this is a terrible idea' or 'Darcy, I don't want you to go through what I went through'?"

Jane removed the loops from her head and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Come on. We've been here all day," she said and jerked her head toward the door. "Grab your phone. I've got wine."

Darcy slid off her stool, trying to ignore her still bruised ribs. "You're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting..." she muttered, a grin spreading over her face.

Jane rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag. "It's your stupid tradition."

* * *

"Rogers!"

Steve slowed his steps, breathing in deeply to prepare himself for the coming conversation before turning to face an irate Tony Stark.

"You let him out."

"He's not a dog, Tony."

"That's funny, because he should be put to sleep."

"I know yo-"

"My cooperation was contingent on the understanding that he was going to remain under."

"You never explicitly-" countered Steve, his voice calm and low.

"I shouldn't have to!"

The two men regarded each other, Tony practically shaking with rage and Steve... Steve just felt bone leaching weariness.

"Tony, you sought redemption. So did Natasha and Bruce and Wanda and Pietro. Let Bucky do the same. Please."

Tony's lip curled in a distasteful snarl. "Keep him away from me. And don't expect me to have his back in a fight."

"Fair enough," replied Steve and Tony backed away.

"You could have told me yourself."

Steve sighed heavily, his eyes going to the floor before looking up again. "Would it have made a difference?"

Tony let out a half scoff, half laugh as his only answer and an uncomfortable silence descended.

"How have you been? Have you talked to Pepper?"

"No. This right here," replied Tony, gesturing back and forth between himself and Steve, "this isn't something you're gonna All-American-apple-pie your way through like were spatting neighbors at a Sunday barbecue. The Avengers are gone. Rhodey is paralyzed. A man you're protecting murdered my parents with his bare hands." His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. "I'm here for Thanos. After that, we go our own ways." He turned to leave.

"I am glad you're here Tony," called out Steve to his back. "It's good to have everyone together again. At least one last time."

Tony spun around again. "I think you're alone in that sentiment."

"I don't think I am."

Tony opened his mouth to reply but stopped and cocked his head as his eyes went unfocused and he seemed to be listening for something.

"Wha-"

"Shhh!"

Steve once quiet could easily hear what had grabbed Tony's ever flitting attention. A bass beat was emanating from above them with some higher tones that he couldn't quite place...

"Is that..." muttered Tony, his eyebrows furrowing, "the Labyrinth soundtrack?"

"The what?" asked Steve as Tony pushed passed him to the stairs.

* * *

"I don't know... normally I'm pretty confident in dealing with men. But the real winners before all this just had an education, drove their own car, were nice, clean, and had a steady job. That was the bar. I think I might be out of my league here,' said Darcy adjusting the volume on the speaker before she poured herself another glass of wine.

"Darcy, you literally saved the Universe. The best he can boast is that he saved the World. Maybe, " said Jane holding out her glass for Darcy to pour, "you are out of his."

"Right. I'm out of Steve Roger's, the national treasure, league." She lowered her voice. "I don't think you've seen his abs."

Her friend shrugged. "I think you should go for it."

"Really?"

"I don't regret my relationship with Thor. It was one of the most exciting, amazing times in my life, even if it wasn't mean to be. I'd do it all over again if given the option." Jane set down her glass and turned to face her more fully. "Honestly , none of us know if we're going to survive this thing that's coming for us. If there's anything or anyone you want to do, I think you should do it or him. "

"Jane!" exclaimed Darcy, pretending to be scandalized before dropping the look. "Okay, I'll consider it."

"Did you really pick the Labyrinth sound track?" asked Jane peering over her to eye her phone.

Darcy scowled, lifting up her phone. "I thought it would work because, you know, Bowie but didn't realize how much was just instrumental music on this."

She shuffled through a few selections before smiling and setting it back down.

"Darcy...no," grumbled Jane at the first notes.

"But you remind me of the babe, Jane."

"No."

"The babe with the power. "

"Nope."

"The power of voodoo."

"I'm going to need more wine."

"You do."

"Daaaarrrrrcy."

"What? It's either this or 'Chilly Down'. "

"No to that too. I had nightmares about those red puppets as a kid. They still terrify me a little."

They both looked back as they heard the access door open to reveal the least likely pair of people either of them expected.

"Well, this has been a disappointment," muttered Tony looking around the otherwise empty roof before he turned and left, leaving a still confused Steve looking at the two women. Jane stood, handing her glass to Darcy, despite the panicked look her former assistant was throwing her.

"I've had enough if I don't want a headache in the morning. Goodnight!" she said cheerily as she too walked past Steve. He nodded to Jane as she left and Darcy could swear she heard him say "Ma'am".

Suddenly hyper-conscious of being alone with Steve, she halfheartedly contemplated double fisting both the glasses of wine in her hands. He walked over, standing opposite her against the roof ledge.

"What is this?" He asked ,nodding at the speaker still blaring music.

"Oh," she replied, setting down her glasses and fumbling her phone in her hands, "We call it 'Movie-Soundtrack-Intermittent-Dance-Party'. We started it a couple of years ago while working late nights. We'd pick a soundtrack and listen to it, occasionally dancing in the lab to stay awake. It drove Selvig nuts at first but towards the end he had started to participate. Jane and I added wine later on and it just became a staple of our girl's night."

"Ah, I see. And what was the selection tonight?"

"You don't know Labyrinth?"

Steve's face remained blank as he shook his head.

"Seriously? What about David Bowie?"

He gave an apologetic shrug.

"Oh my god, you missed the eighties. You poor thing." Unable to help it, she glanced him over and started giggling as she pictured him in an eighties styled outfit.

"What?" He asked as her giggles transformed into full on laughter, tears slipping from her eyes.

 _Ok, enough wine for me_.

She looked up to see him amused and curious about her outburst.

"Sorry, I just couldn't help but picture you in a boxy sport coat with Flock of Seagull's hair. And then all I could see was you dressed like a member of Devo and then it devolved into Rick Astley dance moves and I'm so sorry, you did not deserve any of this."

"This wouldn't be the first time, but I don't think I understood any of what you just said."

"Come on " she said nodding at the seat beside her as she used the internet browser on her phone to pull up Flock of Seagulls.

He sat, scooting his chair closer to more easily see the screen and recoiled as the first few images came up.

"But... why?"

"Why did they do their hair like that, why did Devo dress as they did, why did we put David Bowie in a codpiece... 'Why' is a question that could encompass the entirety of the eighties. And the answer is always 'cocaine'."

He chuckled and leaned back over her shoulder, his breath just ghosting over her skin and she hoped he wouldn't notice the newly made goose-flesh left in its wake.

"Get comfortable. You are going to get a crash course in eighties culture."

She spent the next hour delighting in his multiple expressions of incredulity. At the end he sat back, shaking his head.

"I'm actually relieved I slept through that decade."

"Eh, I missed it too, technically, but my mom was a huge fan of the aesthetics of it all. I grew up watching all sorts of wholesome and existentially terrifying movies like Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, and the Never-Ending Story." She set back down her phone, it now playing one of the instrumental songs. "So, how's your friend doing?"

"About as well as I could expect. Even got a haircut yesterday. Thought it might help him to reclaim some of his old self while moving on to something new."

"A haircut can be a cathartic experience," she said in agreement and leaned back in her chair to look at the stars above and frowned. "You know, I used to love to look at the night sky and wonder about what was up there... but now all I can think of is which one may be home to that giant purple ass-hat."

Steve too leaned back in his chair, his forearm brushing against hers. "You certainly have a way with words."

"Pure poetry, I know."

She felt more than saw his smile in reply.

"We should strategize together," he said abruptly. "About how to best use your skills. In a larger battle, I mean."

"Uh, sure."

"Tomorrow then?"

She turned her head to look at him. "Ok," she said, her voice coming out as just above a whisper.

"Ok," he replied and pushed himself up. He moved his hands as if unsure what to do with them until he finally decided on a small wave. "See you tomorrow then."

She watched him walk away.

 _Oh boy._


	19. Chapter 19

Tony cursed under his breath as he turned down yet another unfamiliar hallway.

"Friday, where's my damn room?"

"The quickest route to your current living quarters is two lefts then take the elevator at the end of the hall, Mr. Stark. I will instruct you further at that juncture."

Letting out an annoyed huff of air he continued onward, blaming his internal stewing over Steve's lack of consideration for his missteps. He flexed his fingers at his side, not sure of when the world seemed to turn upside down. He had flattered himself as a loose cannon, unbridled by anyone's moral code but his own and viewed Roger's buttoned up, straight laced idealism as naive and unattainable... But now Steve is an international criminal on the run from multiple governments and Tony's the face of order and appeasement.

He rubbed his brow in agitation as he tried to press back against the tightness in his chest that threatened to make his heart race and palms sweat. His effort was futile and the intrusive thoughts that plagued him in his darkest moments started to swirl about his head.

 _Ultron was your doing_

 _Solkolvia was the fallout from your choices._

 _Pepper won't see you._

 _Rhodey is paralyzed._

 _Your friends hate you._

 _You are alone and for good reason._

 _You're going to die._

 _They are all going to die._

 _All. Your. Fault_

He could see a sliver of the elevator up ahead but had to stop at the intersecting hall, his shaking hand bracing himself against a wall as his breath came in short gasping pants. A flicker of motion caught his eye and he straightened, his sharp inhalation audible as he took in the figure kneeling on the ground as it slowly lifted an African Grey parrot to his chest with one hand. Tony could not move, his brain not able to immediately reconcile the silhouette of the winter soldier with the face and hair of the Sgt. Barnes from his father's movies. The man stood slowly as if to not startle him, his thumb moving over the back of the bird to hold it more securely against himself.

Tony's hand slid down the wall, dropping weakly to his side as he waited for scowling defiance, but the clean shaven Barnes stood tall and straight, keeping his eyes downcast, as if awaiting an assault. The clicking of the bird's beak seemed to break their silent stalemate and Tony turned quickly away, continuing to the elevator, a shuddered breath escaping him as the doors slid shut.

* * *

Steve rested his hands on his belt, squinting up at the sun as he waited outside of the compound. He turned as his heightened hearing detected footsteps over grass and he felt his stomach clench as Darcy smiled up at him.

"I thought we could go to that clearing, there," he said, and pointed to a spot in the distance. "Less risk of collateral damage."

"Okay," she nodded and stretched out her hand, creating a portal and they stepped through. He looked around, impressed at the distance she was able to cover.

"So what did you have in mind?"

He turned, taking in their surroundings. "If we get a large frontal assault, it'll likely involve projectiles and manned craft. You could use your portals to turn their own momentum and force against them."

She nodded, envisioning it herself. "They would essentially wreck and shoot themselves down. And if I put the exit portal underneath them, it could catch any traveling on the ground."

"How large could you make it?"

Darcy didn't answer, instead turning to the open field. He watched silently as she breathed in deeply, her hand rising up out in front of her and he felt something like a charge pass over him, raising the hair on the back of his neck. The air wavered in front of her and he looked up to gauge its size... and up... and up. The width of the portal spanned nearly the entirety of the field.

His eyes flicked to Darcy, her jaw clenched in concentration.

"That'll do it," he said moving to stand beside her, still admiring it's size.

Her hand fell, the portal blinking out of existence and she let out a breath. "I could hold it longer if i needed to. It's getting easier the more I practice."

"Can you create one within objects?"

Darcy's face screwed up in confusion. "I... I'm not sure I follow."

He gestured to the grass beneath them and her head tilted as she contemplated his request before shrugging. "You might want to brace yourself."

It was only a few seconds before the ground started to rumble under his feet and then the sensation of weightlessness as they fell. It was a short drop but the landing was uneven as the mound of dirt beneath them had lost sections in the fall and Steve reached out, grabbing her hand as Darcy nearly fell off their little island.

"It worked," she said, smiling as she looked back at the small crater left behind in her attempt. He flexed his fingers as he slid his hand from hers, realizing he still held it.

"So... we're pretty far from the compound. How far away can you create those?"

"Don't know," she replied with a shrug. "So far I've been able to make them wherever I want."

Steve stepped back "Care to test that?"

"Anything specific in mind?"

"Just as long as it is far away."

She paused, worrying her lip before creating a small portal. It flickered before stabilizing and they stepped through it, Darcy smiling as her boots connected with scuffed flooring. Steve's eyebrows lifted as he took in the small apartment and it's eclectic and cluttered ambiance.

"Is this...?"

"Yeah, my apartment"

His eyes flicked around the room. "Africa to here," he muttered. "That's nearly across the world." His eyes fell back onto her. "You can go anywhere."

She shrugged uncertainly, "I think I'd have to have been there first. Visualization is important. I have to see where I'm going before I can..." She waved her hands in the air in an exaggerated motion. "Do you mind if I grab a few things while we're here?"

"No, go ahead," he said and looked around the room as she disappeared into a hall. He wandered over to a row of photos on her sideboard and smiled as he spotted one of Jane and Darcy, the astrophysicist looking especially annoyed as Darcy smiled brightly. There were several others including that appeared to be an adolescent, braces wearing Darcy sitting with an older woman with straight black hair and familiar blue eyes.

 _Her mother._

A few minutes later, Darcy emerged from her room, a bag slung over her shoulder as she sealed an envelope.

"I've just got to drop off my rent. I don't want my stuff to get thrown out. I kinda like some of it. I'll just be a minute."

They portaled back once she returned, this time to just outside the compound and Steve scratched his chin, not quite wanting his time with Darcy to end. He opened his mouth, not even sure of what he was going to say when he felt it, a cold sear, like a knife through his brain, and the sudden pain caused him to crash to his knees.

Forcing his eyes open against the onslaught, he looked for Darcy, heart dropping to see that she too, had fallen.


	20. Chapter 20

It was more than pain, the frequency coursing through her brain made her limbs near useless and Darcy was unable to even press her fingers to her skull in attempt to keep her head from exploding. She managed to keep her eyes open, hoping to see what it was that did this to them, hoping there would be something she could do to stop it. Her breath came in shallow gasps as she stared into the sky. Somewhere in a corner of her brain that was not on fire, she noted the beautiful swirling white clouds and glimpses of robin's egg blue skies. They suddenly parted, a black ship dropping over the compound, its massive shadow falling over them.

 _No, no, no..._

Using every ounce of will she possessed, she managed to turn her head. Steve was next to her on his knees, his shoulders hunched as his fingers flexed in the grass between them. Their eyes met and he reached over and down, his hand gripping her uniform at the collar. He lifted her with him as he stood, pulling her close to slip his free hand around her back and sling her arm over his shoulders. He dragged them to the door and leaned against the wall as his knees nearly gave out again, his head leaning against the cold concrete of the walls exterior. He rallied after a few more minutes, opening the door and pulling them in. The walls of the building provided no relief as Steve continued to slowly trudge his way down the hall, her entire weight supported by him.

She tried to portal them out, but couldn't concentrate, the pain immediately robbing her of any thought she managed to half formulate. And just when she thought she might die, blessed silence flooded her ears. She breathed heavily in relief, the bridge of her nose resting against Steve's neck. She was finally able to think.

"Jane!" she gasped out, settling herself on her rwo feet. She created a portal and grasped Steve's hand, tugging him along after her through it to Jane's room. It was in disarray, furniture upturned but no sign of her friend.

"Shit," she breathed out and took off down the hall. Steve ran ahead of her, pulling his com from a pocket and putting it into his ear.

"Sam! Natasha! Does any one read me?" he shouted as he threw his shoulder into a door and it flew off the hinges as they continued unimpeded. A person was slumped against a wall in this new area, streaks of blood smeared on the brick behind him.

"Bucky!"

The man looked up at their approach and Darcy could see he was holding his jacket against a wound on the opposite side.

"They had a woman, they were dragging her out. I couldn't do much with that noise in my head but I tried to stop them."

"Jesus, Buck..." muttered Steve as he pulled away the cloth to examine the wound on his unarmed side.

"I've survived worse."

"We've got to get you help-"

"You have to go. Now, if you have any hope of catching them."

"First we have to-"

"I can get you to the med ward," interrupted Darcy straightening. "And then we can go get Jane."

Steve's eyes flicked between them both before he stepped back.

"I'm going to try to hit the sofa in the waiting room. Just lay flat once you land," she said and Bucky just nodded his understanding. She created a portal underneath him and he was gone.

"Do you know where the combat station is?"

"Yes, Clint brought me once," Darcy recalled. It was where Clint instructed her to go if the assemble order ever went out and she immediately understood Steve's intent. They portaled to just outside the room and were met with Clint who jerked his head for them to follow. "It didn't effect Vision," he said, as they ran down the hall. "He was able to get whatever that weapon was to stop and is in pursuit of the ship right now. Tony's suited up and behind him. Everyone else is boarding the jet." They rounded another corner, shoving open the set of double doors that led to the hanger.

Darcy had to dodge around several scrambling Wakandian airmen and their crews, all jumping into their individual crafts. King T'Challa broke away from a discussion with one of his generals to walk briefly with them.

"My men will offer air support and follow close behind. The Vision damaged one of their engines so we should be able to catch them before they can leave atmosphere," he said, putting his cowl onto his face as he left to join his men. They boarded the awaiting craft, Clint going to sit with Natasha at the controls. Darcy grabbed one of the hanging grips as they surged upward, trying to calm her racing mind while Steve went to the cockpit.

 _They've taken her. Why? What could he want with her..._

She glanced around, watching as Sam secured his vest and Scott pulled his mask over his face. Wanda was sitting, her finger steepled over her mouth, her face steely and calm. Steve returned to her side, reaching up for his own support strap as he handed her an ear com.

"Can you portal onto their ship?"

"Yes, but we have to match its speed or else it could kill us. It would be like stepping in front of a train if we don't." she said, pushing the piece into her ear.

"Natasha, you catch that?"

"Same speed. Got it."

"Alright. Sam, Scott, Wanda. You'll go in with us to get Dr. Foster. Natasha and Clint, keep them busy. Tony? Vision? "

"Yes, Captain Rogers?" came Vision's smooth dialect over the com along with Tony's gruff "What?"

"Take out any weapons you can find. We don't need a repeat of what just happened while all these planes are in the air."

"Coming up on our target in thirty seconds," announced Clint a few minutes later as he roughly jabbed at several controls. Darcy stepped up behind their chairs, swallowing thickly as the dark ship came into view, appearing to be the size of a couple of 747s.

"We should move quickly. I don't know how long I can hold it in place with two moving targets," she said to Steve who motioned for the others to come near and nodded his thanks to Sam as he handed him a shield.

"We're in position when your're rea-" Natasha's voice broke off as the ship started to fire upon them and she jerked sharply at the controls to evade.

"I'm gonna level it out here. You've got about two seconds to get on that ship," shouted Clint never taking his eyes off the radar in front of him.

She felt Steve's hand clamp onto her shoulder and she raised her arm, waiting.

"Now!" shouted Clint. As a result of creating the exit portal blind, they found themselves falling several feet to the ground but Wanda managed to halt them with enough time to land on their feet. Darcy coughed in the acrid, stale air in the ship, a plume of condensation erupting from her breath in the sudden cold and she wiped at the fog that covered her glasses lenses.

"Wanda, where is she?" asked the Captain, pulling his shield off his back.

The young woman closed her eyes in brief concentration. "The floor beneath us. She's still alive. But she is being guarded."

"Darcy?"

"I can't avoid them if I don't know where I'm going."

"Here," said Wanda, taking her hand. The others around Darcy faded away and she could see Jane wrapped in some kind of field, with two cloaked figures watching over her. She looked around the vision, taking note of available cover before pulling her hand out of Wanda's. A explosion rocked the ship under their feet, the lights dimming briefly before returning to full power.

"We need to move," said Steve. "Scott?"

"Yea, Cap?"

"She'll put you in first. Get directly behind those guards but only attack once we're there."

"Wait," said Darcy, closing her eyes, and envisioned the room again, this time placing a portal under each guard's feet and the exits high into the open sky.

"It's clear, now," she said.

"What did you do?" asked Sam, his voice a little alarmed.

"Well... let's just hope they can't fly."

"Alright then" he muttered, his eyes passing over her in new appraisal but was interrupted as they were nearly knocked from her feet as another, even closer explosion rattled the walls around them.

"Darcy, get us down there now!"

Deciding it was the fastest route, she created a portal under their feet and they fell, landing straight onto the floor below. Their coms crackled in their ears as Darcy ran to Jane, her hands hovering helplessly over the golden field containing her.

"We have to pull back, Cap. We're taking heavy fire and we've lost an engine," said Clint, the blare of alarms easily heard behind him.

"Go, we've got enough fliers to get us out."

"Steve... we're sorry," cracked Natasha's voice over the poor connection.

"Just get yourselves to safety. We'll be fine." The com went silent and they all joined Darcy, trying to figure out how to free her friend when Wanda's head jerked to the door.

"We've got company," she muttered darkly, her hands starting to glow dangerously red in the small room. Sam withdrew his gun moving to join Wanda to cover their backs and Scott miniaturized out of their sight.

Steve's eyes raked over the containment field, "It doesn't completely surround her. Think you could portal her out the back?"

Her reply was interrupted by gunfire and a flash of blue light clashing with red as Steve stepped in front of them, shield held high.

She spun around, seeing that Jane was indeed inly secured from the front, put a portal at her back. The unconscious physicist slumped backwards, and fell into Darcy's awaiting arms. She dragged her to cover as the others had dispatched of the remaing creatures, all the while the ship shuddered ominously around them.

There was a sudden screech of metal shredding and Darcy felt her ears pop as the cold air leached out of the room.

"Something's breached the hull! They've lost pressurization. We're going to be out of oxygen soon. We have to evacuate, now!" shouted Sam.

"Tony?" asked Steve into his com.

"Little busy here," Tony replied, his answer half a grunted response. "Got some projectiles on my ass that I just can't shake. And they look like they hurt. A lot."

"Where is Vision?"

"He's trying to get said projectiles off my ass."

Steve's mouth pulled into a grim line as he looked back at Darcy. "And you're sure you can't portal us to the ground?"

She shook her head adamantly, her grip tightening on Jane. "Speed isn't lost traveling through the portals. You might survive but Jane, Scott, and I won't."

"Captain Rogers," interrupted T'Challa over the com, "The ship is losing altitude and it is going to crash over a populated area. We are going to try to cripple it further so it may miss the city center but you must evacuate now."

"I guess oxygen won't be an issue then," muttered Scott with a frown.

Steve went still, his eyes downcast as his mind worked to find a solution.

"Captain! I need your people off that craft."

Steve's head snapped up. "Can you make a portal as big as this ship?" he asked Darcy, his voice sharp and rushed.

"I... probably. But this is at lease twice as large as the one in the field."

"Will you try?"

"Y-yes."

He pressed his fingers to the com in his ear. "Don't take any more shots. I'm going to get Darcy to the bridge and we'll get this ship away from your people."

"I'm trusting you to do this Captain. Wakanda is trusting you to do this," came the King's measured reply.

Steve moved to Darcy, lifting Jane to place her in Sam's arms and he secured her with additional straps. "Scott, miniaturize and hold on to Wanda. She's going to rip a hole in the hull and you're all going to leave. Darcy and I will take care of the ship."

"But how are you going to escape before it crashes?"

"We'll manage," he replied, offering his hand down to Darcy to help her up. "Where's the bridge?" he asked, his eyes falling on Wanda.

"Pretty much a straight shot once you turn out of this room," she replied, lifting Scott to her jacket pocket ans pointed with her free hand in the correct direction.

A silent goodbye seemed to pass between them and Steve stepped back, Darcy following him into the belly of the ship.


	21. Chapter 21

The corridor lights flashed in warning as the metal floor echoed against the hard soles of their boots. She was falling behind, her strides unable to keep pace but he figured this was better. He would be the first to encounter any combatants but then she was suddenly at his side.

 _She's using portals to keep up._

"Just keep running straight!" she shouted to him and they both passed through the next one and were transported to the end of the hall. Steve turned towards the center of the ship at the newly present intersection, immediately finding enemies bearing down on them. Never breaking his stride, he sent his shield flying ahead into the chest of one of the cachectic appearing creatures, catching it on the rebound to block the weapon of another. In his peripheral vision he saw two of the others vanish, their cries of alarm lasting only a moment longer than they did.

Feeling a cold burn across his cheek, he barely dodged the crackling blue end of a staff and planted his foot into the maw of his remaining attacker. The thing stumbled backward and disappeared, its momentum carrying it through a portal.

They started to run again but the ship listed, slowing their progress as they had to frequently check their balance. Steve practically sighed in relief as they finally came to the bridge where a lone pilot pulled furiously at the controls. He cracked his shield against it's skull and it slumped over, unconscious.

"Where should I crash it?" asked Darcy, staring out the navigation window, her eyes wide and skin pale. He followed her line of sight, a sickening feeling churning in his gut as the buildings below began to draw closer. This was more than just a 'populated area'... it was a major metropolitan city.

"Over an ocean. We don't have much time."

She nodded jerkily, her hand reaching forward but both of their attention was drawn back to the entrance behind them at the sound of echoing shouts.

"The portal!" he instructed, pointing to the window as he ran to investigate.

The creatures... it must have been the entirety of the remainder of the ship... were pouring out of adjacent corridors, all sprinting toward them with fury on their faces. He withdrew his sidearm, unloading the clip as he backed away closer to Darcy so she could hear him.

"There's too many. They'll have to funnel through this doorway but I won't be able to hold them off for long." He glanced at her as he reloaded. Her face was grimaced and perspiration beaded on her brow but she gave a single nod to indicate her understanding.

The shouts of the approaching horde would have drowned out anything else said and he focused his weapon, firing on them with rapidity and precision. The first wave through stumbled with their injuries, collapsing and tripping a few behind them as his ammunition started to run low. Darcy's arm snapped out behind her, a portal covering the entrance and the deluge of enemies stopped.

"Can you hold both?" he asked as the last enemy on this side of the portal fell.

"I'll have to," she said through gritted teeth. He swallowed thickly as his attention returned to the window, flashes of the Antarctic playing in his mind.

 _There will be no waking from this one._

He figured they had fifteen seconds... if they were lucky... til impact.

"Darcy..."

 _Ten seconds._

"You can do this," he muttered, his hands gripping the railing in front of him as their dive became more precarious.

 _Five seconds._

"I know you can."

The last words came out a whisper, the buildings so close he could make out the birds that were abandoning their high rise nests for cover. He heard a strangled desperate shriek erupt from Darcy and he braced himself, eyes open, ready to meet the death that had nipped at his heels the moment he'd come into this world. If it was anything like last time, he would feel nothing.

And then he blinked and there was an open blue ocean as far as he could see.

* * *

Relief was one hell of an emotion, thought Darcy. She'd put this heady, blissful state up against love any day.

She had done it... sure, in her usual manner of last minute reprieve, but still... she hadn't let the Avengers or T'Challa down. Steve's faith in her had not been misplaced.

Her hand dropped as she closed the portal but managed to maintain the one at the entrance despite her fatigue.

"What now-" she asked but was cut off as the ship started to dive more rapidly, the nose tipping to where they could no longer see the horizon. In the same instant, Steve's arm banded around her, pulling her to his chest. Their surroundings started to vibrate violently, pieces snapping off and slamming into the wall behind them. She felt the familiar shifting of gravity as they lifted into the air, their only tether being Steve's grip on the railing. Alarms starting screaming all around them.

They were in free fall.

She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist and reached up, twisting his uniform in her fists and yanking on it to get his attention.

"Let go!" she shouted, motioning to his white knuckle grip on the rail. He searched her features for only a second before he did as she asked. They flew backwards, passing into her awaiting portal, the blaring alarms being replaced by howling wind.

Panic washed over her when she did not feel the expected gravity shift.

 _Shit. We were still falling, just slower than the ship, and not traveling up._

"Hang on!" she yelled as she lifted her head to get her bearings.

 _The horizon... where are you... god dammit... yes!_

They passed through another portal, and this time the sudden force of gravity threatened to pull her down away from him but Steve shifted one arm higher on her back to hold her secure. It seemed like forever until they slowed and she thought frantically of where to drop them, exhaustion threatening to overwhelm her.

 _So this was what Barton was talking about..._

Her eyes met Steve's as gravity brought them to a halt. In a sudden flash of inspiration, she gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile and created the final portal beneath them.

* * *

It wasn't often that Steve found himself to be of no use. He despised the feeling as it had plagued him his entire childhood, the lack of power to do anything about his circumstances.

But there really wasn't a whole lot he could do as Darcy sent them hurtling through the sky. Well, nothing except make sure they did not become separated and take the brunt of the landing to let her survive.

 _Steve Rogers, super-airbag._

He watched as she looked around them, trying to figure out how to land them safely out of this mess and his stomach lurched as the world seemed to turn upside down.

 _Another portal._

He could feel her hand slipping from his uniform and pulled her closer, shaking his head a bit to reorient himself and was relieved to feel them finally slowing down. He pulled back to look at her. She was conscious but her eyes unfocused as she muttered to herself under her breath. They were weightless in that split second before they started to fall again, the hair that had come loose from her ponytail wafting around her face and her eyes met his, a small smile curving on her lips.

 _Beautiful._

It was ridiculous, he knew, to be thinking this... at this moment... after what they had been through but he couldn't quite bring himself to care.

The never-ending ocean beneath them vanished, replaced by familiar jungle and he moved his hand to the back of her head to cushion her fall into the lake below.


	22. Chapter 22

The fall was from higher than intended and she saw stars as the water engulfed them both, her limbs going limp and sliding from his body. But his hold was sure and a second later, her head broke the surface. No breath had ever felt better and her eyes remained closed as she savored the feeling of being alive.

"Darcy?"

Her eyes opened as she felt his fingertips touch her cheek, her vision of Steve doubling before easing into a singular image. He drew his hand back.

"I'm okay, just a little dazed."

"Come on, let's get to shore."

She was able to make it with some assistance but did not miss Steve's concerned glances as she crawled up on shaking limbs. He was already on his feet but she decided it was best for her to stay seated, her legs feeling like little more than jello.

"This is Captain Rogers. Does anyone read?" he asked as he pressed his finger to his ear and shook his head at her inquiring look. "Is yours working?"

"Possibly but it's gone. I think I lost it somewhere over the ocean when I was trying to figure out which way was up."

"Where did you crash it anyway?"

"The Atlantic. I thought of the flight Jane and I took to London and remembered looking out the window with nothing but water for miles in all directions. So whatever longitude and latitude is at the midpoint of KLM's Boston to London route, that's probably where you'll find it."

Pushing herself to her feet she took two unsteady steps and raised her hand to portal them to the compound but was stopped when her wrist was gently encircled and held down.

"No, you can barely stand."

"I'm fine."

"We were stretching your limits even before hell broke loose."

"It's just one last one."

"If it were life and death, sure, but it's not. No need to take an unnecessary risk. "

"I think a portal would take less energy than me running the whole way."

"I'll carry you."

She took a step back from him. "You can't carry me that whole way."

His head tilted in mild annoyance. "Darcy, I can throw a motorcycle." He seemed to consider his words for a moment, an alarmed look crossing his features. "Not that you weigh as much as a motorcycle. You obviously weigh significantly less than one. I'm just saying if I can throw a motorcycle, I can definitely carry you." He sighed as she gave him a withering look, making it clear he had misunderstood her reticence.

"Let me help you," he tried again. "Please."

They stared at one another before she finally relented with a roll of her eyes, a "fine" passing through her gritted teeth. She _knew_ he could carry her... it was more of the _how_ that made her cringe. She was wondering which would be more humiliating, riding piggy back like a toddler or being slung over his shoulder, ass in the air, when he surprised her by doing neither and swept her up into his arms. His face was inches away.

"Hold on. I'm going to run it."

Pressed against his chest, she could feel the deep rumble of his voice against her and she slid her arms around his neck, grateful she had an excuse for their slight shake. Heat creeping up her face, she turned her cheek into his uniform to hide her blush and feigned as if she were giving into her exhaustion. She was surprised at the speed they moved through the underbrush, though if she really thought about it, nothing about him should surprise her anymore. Watching him fight in person was dizzying and she had been half fearful that she would catch him in a portal by accident while trying to help.

A distant roar had him slowing and they both looked to the sky in time to see the return of the Wakandan air force.

"There," he said nodding at one familiar craft, "It's Clint and Natasha. They made it. They probably picked up the others." He shifted her a little higher in his arms and took off again. They were met by King T'Challa at the gate, his hand immediately reaching out to shake Steve's as he set Darcy on her feet.

"I am pleased to see you are alive," he said and turned his attention to Darcy. "Thank you, Ms. Lewis. You saved many Wakandan lives today. Come, your friend is already awake and waiting for you."

She followed the King, forcing one leg in front of the other. Steve was to the side, just slightly behind her, his steps dramatically slowed to keep with her pace and she found it equal parts annoying and endearing.

"Darcy!"

She heard Jane shout her name in the crowded debriefing room just as they entered, barely catching sight of her friend's head as she jumped repeatedly to see over the others. The room quieted at the new arrivals and Jane pushed under Sam's arm to get to them.

"Oh my god, I was so worried when they told me what you were doing. I mean it worked, it obviously worked. That portal would have been massive... the amount of stored energy in the atoms you manipulated alone... I'll have to calculate it. Do you remember the approximate dimensions? Nevermind, I'll check the security footage. That would give me more accurate estimation. Your spatial reasoning has been off in the past. And wait, where did the plane go? Obviously someplace remote. What if you don't have a limit to how far you can link two portals? We need to get to the lab-"

"Jane!" interrupted Darcy, her hands going to rest on either side of her friend's face. "Take a breath."

The scientist was practically vibrating with pent up energy but did as she asked. "Thank you for coming to get me. Again."

"Any new insight into why they want you?" asked Steve.

Jane just shook her head. "I assume it has some thing to do with this." She waved her still gloved hands in the air. "But I don't understand the specifics. Unlike Darcy's ability, it doesn't seem to have any facets or variations. They turn black and kill. That's it."

Steve frowned, his eyes watching her gesticulations. "I'm sorry Dr. Foster but until we understand this better, we'll need some extra security on you. Nothing too intrusive. Guards outside the lab and outside your room."

She looked ready to protest but just sighed. "I get it."

Darcy swayed on her feet and felt Steve's hands steady her at the waist before withdrawing. "Dr. Foster, can you take Ms. Lewis back to her room? We'll send someone to check on you both shortly."

Jane nodded and stepped under Darcy's arm to lead her out of the room.

"Are you really okay?" asked Jane once they were out of the earshot of the others.

"Yeah, just exhausted," she breathed out, leaning on her friend. "Hey, how is Barnes doing?"

"Good, from what I heard," her voice trailed off. "I can't believe he tried to stop them. I couldn't even move."

They were nearly at Darcy's room when Jane spoke again.

"Why are you soaking wet?"

Darcy snorted a laugh. "I'll tell you the full story later. If I go into everything now, you'll never let me sleep. "

"True," grunted Jane as she kicked open her door and deposited Darcy on the coffee table. "Wait here. I'll get you a change of clothes."

She unzipped her flight suit, sliding it down her aching muscles.

"Oh shit," she muttered as she noticed the bruises around her ribs, likely from Steve's hold. Jane stumbled to a stop as she came back into the room.

"Jesus. You sure you're okay?" she muttered, tossing Darcy her clean clothes.

"Oh, yeah. It's just bruising." Darcy pulled the shirt over her head, and slid on the shorts before extending her hands for Jane to help her. Her friend dragged her to her room and pulled back the covers.

"You know, after Thor, I did not expect my rescuer to be you." said Jane as she swung Darcy's legs into the bed and pulled the covers back over her, "But I should have. You looked after me before all this and now you've saved me twice."

"You're looking after me now, Jane," she said with a yawn and patted her knee. "And maybe you'll get to save me too."

She never heard her response, and instead gave into the overwhelming desire to finally sleep.

* * *

 _"Hello?" she shouted as she stepped over the shattered glass and rubble, the yellowed sky swirling above. Fear pricked at the base of her neck as she stepped under some floating debris and turned down 7th avenue to find a mountain of steal and glass blocking her way. She started to climb, not caring about the slashes on her palm and forearms as she stumbled on the uneven terrain. Sweat poured down her temple as she caught her breath, finally reaching the top. A desert of destruction was laid out in front of her, the heat of the scorched earth burning the tears away from her cheeks. She started to scream but then he was there... Thanos... his giant hands wrapping around her chest to squeeze the life from her._

Darcy sat up, her strangled cries dying in her throat. It took a few moments for her to recall her surroundings but the silence and darkness of her room only increased her panic and she scrambled up from the bed. Jane was passed out on her sofa, arm draped over her face... and that meant guards outside the door. The fear started to creep up her neck and she threaded her fingers through her hair.

"Carly... Carly is..." she started to mutter but felt like she would suffocate if she stayed in there much longer.

 _Oh, fuck it_.

She portaled the roof, the night air and open sky allowing the band around her chest to ease just a bit.

"Carly is kinky so she fornicates most often," she said out loud, her fingers flexing over the railing of the roof and she inhaled deeply through her nose. "Carly is kinky so she fornicates most often. Carly is kinky so she fornicates most often."

"That sounds like an unfair assumption to make about Carly," came a masculine voice, "but I would like her number if you have it handy."

Darcy startled and turned, already knowing who would be there. Tony Stark sat in a nearby chair, his feet propped on the railing, a short glass of some amber liquid swirling in his hand.

"It's a mantra. Helps calm me down if I get overwhelmed and start to have a panic attack."

"I'm guessing that's not a standard psychiatry issue."

"No," she replied with a rueful smile and Tony nudged a chair in her direction. "It was a mnemonic device to remember the Kreb's cycle."

Tony's face screwed up in confusion. "I thought you were poly sci?"

"My mom was a doctor," she replied as she sat heavily in the proffered chair. "And she used to get panic attacks. That was her mantra. She remembered it from medical school and it always made her laugh."

Tony took a sip of his drink. "Mind if I steal it?"

"No, go ahead."

They sat in silence and Darcy leaned back to also prop her feet up, somewhat grateful the sky was overcast and she couldn't see the stars.

"Did Barnes really try to help Foster?" he asked, his voice low. Darcy glanced over at him but he wouldn't meet her eyes, instead he seemed more interested in watching his ice cubes melt.

"He did. Got stabbed for his trouble."

Tony tipped up the glass and drained it in one go. "You gonna be alright here by yourself?" he asked, standing abruptly.

"Yeah, I'm good."

He nodded and started for the door, stopping with his hand on the knob.

"You did good work today, by the way," he said and then was gone.


	23. Chapter 23

Darcy rubbed her hands over her knees, her skin feeling chilled in the night air. Still feeling wired though the edges of her panic had ebbed away, she was not ready to return to bed. The day's events washed over her, and she dug her nails into her thighs as she though of Jane, and the ship, and... well... Steve.

The few times she had allowed herself to fantasize about her legs wrapped around him, it had not included full uniforms and flying over the Atlantic ocean.

 _My god, we really did that. And then he carried me back._

She snorted, trying to tamp down the romantic within her that swooned at the recollection of being in his arms and wished she didn't feel so flustered by him. A sudden though occurred to her and she removed her phone, typing rapidly in the search bar. A few seconds later, several thumbnails of Steve Rogers popped on the screen. Her finger swept upward, the candid pictures of him captured during the multiple battles across the world flying past until she was near the end, the technicolor blur changing to sepia tone. She tapped the first image, the figure of a pre-serum Steve Rogers popping up on her screen. She had seen the photo before but not recently and now it was like seeing it for the first time.

His army issued helmet was barely on straight despite being secured with the chin strap and his body was beyond small, looking practically frail with collar bones that protruded out further than his chest. But his face... his face was the same, determined, if a narrower and bordering on gaunt.

 _He was like me once... just hoping to help and stumbling ass first into something so, so much bigger._

She wished she could have known him then, when he was just a man.

 _Where does Captain America end and Steve Rogers begin?_

She swiped to the next picture, and it was Steve as she knew him but still during the war, Sergeant Barnes at his side.

 _Shit, Barnes. I should go see if he is okay..._

She wiggled her bare toes and sighed before she pushed herself to her feet and portaled to the med ward.

* * *

"And after she got rid of the ship, she got us back here. No casualties on our side."

"And that was her, the one with you when you found me?"

"Yeah, that was Darcy."

Bucky gently scoffed. "You always did have a thing for brunettes with big red lips," he said, smirking as Steve started to silently sputter. "Ever since we saw Snow White, you've had a type."

"Come on, we were nearly twenty when that came out."

"Doesn't make it untrue."

Steve rubbed his face looking ready to protest, before his shoulders slumped, and he gave up any pretense. "I... I do like her."

"You gonna do anything about it?"

"It's an unusual situation, Buck, and she's got a lot going on."

"She's a grown up, I'm pretty sure she can handle it."

"I don't know..."

Bucky sat up straighter in his bed. "Do you regret your time with Peggy?"

Steve's hand froze where it had been massaging his temple and he looked up at Bucky, his eyes unwavering. "No."

His friend only tilted his head in response. Steve rose from his seat looking uncomfortable. "I should let you sleep, it's already late and the doctor's said you'll get out in the morning. I'll come to see you then."

"Hey, can you go check on the bird for me?"

Steve nodded and let himself out, turning down the hall to the main waiting area.

* * *

Darcy was seriously reconsidering her plan as she stood barefoot in a sweatshirt and pajama shorts, staring at the surprised faces of Steve and Sam Wilson. She couldn't blame them, really, she'd practically portaled on top of them. She mentally thought she should be grateful she didn't get immediately punched or put in an arm bar.

"Hey," she said, tugging at the hem of her shirt as they blinked rapidly at her and she caught Steve's eyes jerk up from what she assumed was the vicinity of her legs. "How's Barnes?"

Steve suddenly found interest in the far wall.

"He's good," said Sam. "Doc said he's practically all healed up."

"He's getting released in the morning," spoke up Steve, now looking at her face.

"That's great. I wanted to tell him thanks for what he did for Jane."

He grimaced. "He's trying to get some rest right now. You think it could wait til the morning?"

"Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting it's like 2 A.M."

"Why are you awake? I thought you'd sleep for days after everything."

She shrugged, her eyes going to the ground before she looked back up. "Just couldn't get back to sleep."

There was a lull as Steve looked around the room. "Uh, well, Bucky wanted me to go check on his bird for him, if you wanted to come help me."

"Okay, but... bird?" asked Darcy, unable to keep the incredulity out of her voice.

"Part of Dr. Kemara's therapy. But we should go. Sam's probably starving by now, if he hasn't escaped from his cage yet." He touched her elbow and pulled her toward the door with surprising urgency.

"Wait... what did you say?" they heard Sam's voice echo behind them.

Steve leaned over. "We should move quickly," he muttered, a surprisingly devious look in his eye as they picked up their pace down the hall, only slowing after Steve was reassured Sam wasn't following.

"Did he really name his bird Sam?"

Steve smirked and Darcy chuckled. "He's going to hate it."

"Yep."

"So what's the fallout from what happened? Anything on the news yet?" asked Darcy, still having to double her steps to keep up with him.

"Not much. Wakanda is notoriously insular, but there are starting to be leaks. Some videos from witnesses in the city have been posted but there's debate on whether or not the videos are real. Shockingly, people are still reluctant to believe a giant space ship can't just blink out of existence. And the Atlantic ocean is a big place and no one else knows where it is so its not like they have any proof otherwise. King T'Challa is sending some recovery planes to find the wreckage but we won't hear back on that for hours." He paused taking a deep breath. "There's video of Tony and Vision escorting Sam and Wanda to the ground. People are even less inclined to believe that one."

"How long til they figure it out? That it was real?"

"A day. Maybe two, tops," he said, running his hand through his hair.

Reaching Bucky's door, Steve opened it and stepped to the side to let Darcy in.

"If you could, distract him while I get his food. He likes to escape."

Darcy walked to the cage, leaning over to look more closely at the African grey parrot let out a low whistle. It cocked its head, feathers ruffling.

"Hey there, Sam," she muttered as Steve changed out the bowl on the other side.

"Punk," it chirped back at her and she snapped up straight.

"Did you just hear what he called me?" she asked, peering around the cage to look at Steve.

He laughed and shook his head. "I see Bucky has been working very hard on his rehabilitation." He straightened and closed the cage door, moving around the cage to stand opposite her. "So why couldn't you sleep? Really?"

She looked back to Sam who had hopped and bit his way down to his food. "Nightmare," she said. "Ridiculous, I know. I'm not eight years old but... I'm not too keen on trying to sleep again at the moment."

He nodded and she was grateful he didn't press further and just put his hands in his pockets, seeming to think for a moment.

"Well, we never got to finish that movie..."

"You cashing in that rain check?"

"Yes," he said, his half smile somewhere between abashed and uncertain and she felt like she couldn't breathe for a second... dear god, that smile _did things_ to her.

She cleared her throat, a few fact of her situation pushing to the front of her mind. "Well, see, Jane's passed out on my sofa and I've still got a layer of lake water on me. "

"We could go to my place," he said and his hand went up to rub the back of his neck. "You could use the shower there and I'm sure I could find something for you... to... wear." His voice trailed off at the end, his ears turning slightly pink.

Darcy felt as if she was on the edge of a precipice, unsure if her next step would let her fly or see her crashing to the ground. But then she remembered what Jane had told her...

 _One good thing about the end of the world is that it focuses your priorities. And as far as consequences go...well, there only a few that really matter._

She looked back up at Steve and took a fortifying breath.

"Ok. Let's go."


	24. Chapter 24

She stood under the spray, sighing as the thin sheen of grime from the lake washed off of her and focused on the white noise the water made against the tiles.

 _You are naked in Steve Roger's apartment. Right. No big deal. Fuck me._

Laughing softly to herself, she rested her head on the cool tile. Exhaustion, terror, excitement, hope... she felt like she would explode if one more emotion tried to roil through her. She wasn't exactly sure what Steve thought of her, but she knew enough to know this was not just a friendly gesture. Sure, he'd let any friend crash at his place but she doubted the offer would have been extended with as much stammering and blushing if there wasn't some hope of something from his side as well. It was endearing in a way, that a man who looked like he did, with the prestige to back it up seemed almost incapable of artifice when it came to... well... whatever this was.

 _How did I end up here?_ she thought a little wistfully. _In Wakanda, making fuck-all giant space ships blink out of the sky, and taking a shower in Captain America's bathroom._

She shook her head, a little disbelieving against the tile. There were so many what ifs in her life...

If her mother hadn't died, she wouldn't have needed to graduate off cycle, wouldn't have been desperate for Jane's project, wouldn't have met Thor, wouldn't have stopped Thanos...

She wouldn't even be alive.

 _A butterfly flaps its wings in Ohio and there's a tsunami in Japan._

She wondered what happened, on Thanos's side, to set them on this inevitable collision course. Was it something just as personal? Did it matter?

Lifting her head from the tile, she washed quickly and stepped out, wrapping the towel tightly around herself before staring at the items on the counter. The boxers actually fit pretty well though the t-shirt bordered on tent-like.

"Jesus, how broad is this dude," she muttered to herself, plucking at the extra fabric and debated on tying the lower part in a knot to give it more shape before deciding that would just be ridiculous. A glance in the mirror had her running her fingers through her hair to tame it and wishing that she didn't look as tired as she felt, but there was nothing to be done for it. Realizing she had dawdled long enough, she exited, looking around in confusion when she did not see Steve in the living room.

"Hello?" she called with no response and padded to the kitchen, the light from the muted TV enough for her to navigate, before turning back just as the door opened. Steve froze for only a moment before closing the door.

"I, uh, went to get your bag. I remembered you dropped it outside when the attack started," he said, extending his hand with the aforementioned object just as she moved to take it from him.

"Thank you. I completely forgot about it."

"Well, you did get me out of a crashing plane earlier. I figure this makes us even. You save my life. I get your bag," he said with a nonchalant shrug.

Smiling, she moved to set her bag next to the sofa before retrieving the remote from the side table. It didn't take long for her to find the movie though her finger slipped on the wrong button when in the corner of her eye she saw Steve sit just off center of the sofa. She hit play and sat, tucking her feet up, knees brushing against his thigh with her movement as the screen lit up with the black and white images.

They both relaxed as the movie went on, settling into the sofa and Darcy felt contentment, warm and languid wash over her as she glanced at his profile. In the dark, with the shadows dancing over his features, he almost looked like the pre-serum image of himself. She smiled and rested her head on the back of the sofa, not noticing the heaviness of her eyelids.

She came back to awareness slowly, first hearing the steady thrum underneath her ear and a warmth against her cheek that made her want to burrow deeper into the comfort. Her body rose and fell as if positioned on a great bellows and her fingers flexed against soft cotton as she stirred, her memory of where she was rushing back to her.

 _Oh... my... god._

She blinked into the darkness, her eyes adjusting slowly to the dim light through the window that signaled the oncoming dawn. They were still in his living room, on the very sofa she had fallen asleep on. Now wide awake, she was hyper aware of every point of her body as the majority of it was pressed against Steve's, his arm draped heavily over her shoulder.

She lifted her head to try to extract herself and pressed her hand down on his chest, embarrassed that she had apparently passed out and slumped on to him. Pondering hows she was going to get her leg off from where she had hiked it up on his hip, she started to curse her lifelong history of aggressive cuddling when she noticed a change in his breathing pattern. She mentally cursed herself, her heart rate ratcheting up as she tipped her head back to look at him.

His eyes were bleary and a little unfocused as they adjusted to the minimal light in the room. "Sorry," he said, his voice low and rough from sleep. "You fell asleep and I did not want to risk waking you."

She scrambled for something to say but only managed, "It's alright."

His eyes flicked over her face. "Do you want to leave?" he asked, his voice still low and earnest.

"No," she whispered after only a moments hesitation.

She felt him take a deep breath, the rise of his chest lifting her with it and then he was leaning down, hesitant as if to give her time to withdraw should she wish it. And so he made a little murmur of surprise when she pushed up to meet him, her lips pressing firmly against his. The contact lasted just a few seconds before she felt his fingers brush against her cheek and thread into her hair, sending little slivers of electricity from her scalp down her spine. An involuntary sigh escaped her, and he deepened the kiss, his tongue brushing her. The arm around her shoulders tightened its hold. Her hand that still lay on his chest spasmed, causing her nails to indent into his shirt and the skin underneath. For a man who's body seemed to be solid muscle and hard lines, his lips were soft, fitting against hers even better than in her imagination. It was all at once entirely sweet and yet still made her breath come up short.

 _Of course_ , she thought as her heart started to thud against her chest, _of course he's good at this too._

They were interrupted by a harsh ring cutting into the silence of the early morning and he pulled away, a defeated sigh escaping him as his head dropped to rest against her forehead briefly before he sat up. He shot her an apologetic look as he reached for his phone and his brow furrowed as the person on the other side spoke, the content not audible to Darcy.

"What is it?" he asked and his jaw tightened as the other person responded.

"I'll be right there," he said and hung up the phone before turning to her, looking slightly worried.

"What is it?"

"That was Natasha. She said I was needed immediately but wouldn't say why."

Darcy pushed herself up, swinging her legs off the sofa but stopped when she felt his hand touch her wrist.

"She said alone."

"What... why?"

"I don't know. But Natasha always has her reasons."

He rubbed his face and ran his fingers through his hair before jerking his head to his bedroom. "Why don't you get some more sleep?"

She nodded, frown still on her face. He pulled back on his shoes and stood, taking his jacket from where he had left it on the back of the chair. He watched her as he straightened the collar and glanced at the door before looking back at her, his expression appearing frustrated.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he said and she could hear the apology in his voice as his hand turned the knob. She gave him a small wave as he left, waiting til the door closed to let her head fall back onto the cushion behind her.

* * *

Steve walked briskly through the hall, wondering what had made Natasha sound so shaken over the phone. Natasha was never rattled... even when the sky was falling around them, bullets landing millimeters from their heads, Natasha was well of serenity. He had a sudden dread that they were running out of time.

He thought of Darcy, her warm body pressed against his, her soft skin under his lips, and felt a pain clench in his chest that had him taking a deep breath to ease it. It troubled him, made him want to wince away from whatever this was he had started by inviting her into his room... it felt eerily similar to an echo of the pain he had experienced when he lost Peggy.

 _Do you regret her?_ he could hear Bucky ask in his head.

 _Never._

He shook off the discomfort, a part of him wondering if he was answering about Darcy as well, and he turned his attention to Natasha who was waiting for him just outside the conference room. Her face looked shadowed as she pushed open the door for him.

He saw T'Challa standing at the far wall but came up short as he spotted the two harried figures seated at the table, his attention focused on the one in the chair facing him.

"Thor."

The mighty warrior looked up from his slumped position at the table, his blue eyes dull, though his face was etched with a quiet anger Steve had never seen him wear before. He whetted his cracked lips and his hand clutched tightly around Mjolnir as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Asgard has fallen."


	25. Chapter 25

"This Thanos... he has Lieutenants under his command, one of which is Hela. She ruled over our damned in a dimension that she herself had been banished to ages ago when she defied the All-father. Thanos released her and promised her retribution if she would retrieve the infinity stones from Asgard."

"Stones? As in plural?" asked Tony, who had followed in not far behind Steve. "We were only aware of the Tesseract."

"As were we," replied Thor and he paused, his hands still gripping Mjolnir as if it were a lifeline. "I was here, on Midgard when they arrived." His eyes slid to the man seated next to him. "Looking for him."

Loki met his glare, his face unreadable before returning to stare expressionless at the wall.

"My brother was hiding on your planet to escape the wrath of our people. He has impersonated our Father for nearly two of your Earth years and had only recently been discovered. With the protection of Odin gone, and no leadership, Hela was able to once more enter Asgard, this time with the destructive power of the Reality Stone at her back. She razed everything in her wake, murdered all our brothers and sisters, and took the Stones."

"How do you know this?" asked T'Challa.

"Heimdall," said Thor. "Our friend was mortally wounded but was able to send himself to me as a final warning and tell me the truth of the source of his power. He was the keeper of the Soul Stone and received his injury trying to prevent Hela from obtaining it... he was unsuccessful. After Heimdall was put to rest, I saw the news reporting on odd happenings in Wakanda and we set out immediately."

"And why is he here?" asked Natasha with a nod to Loki, her voice as cold and detached as ever.

"To defeat this evil, we will need all powers at our disposal. I have presented him with a choice: help us or die."

"And you believe him?"

"I would have Lady Wanda look into his thoughts. If they are insincere, he forfeits his life."

Loki appeared startled and the brothers stared at one another for a moment before he nodded his acquiescence and T'Challa asked one of his Dora Milaje to retrieve the young woman.

Thor's eyes passed over all in the room and leaned back in his chair. "And what news have you? Why do you no longer reside in the Tower?"

"You wanna take this one, Cap?" asked Tony, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall. They stared hard at one another before Steve turned away, his fist clenching at his side at the delighted smile that crossed Loki's features at the display between the two men.

"There are more important things we have to discuss first," started Steve. "Thor, you need to know that-"

Steve was cut off by the door flying open, a disheveled and wide eyed Jane standing in the opening. "I can't find Darcy!" she exclaimed. "I was in her room- she was asleep when I left her- but now she's gone!"

Steve moved to meet the panicked scientist, hearing the scrape of chairs as Thor got to his feet, his exclamation of 'Jane!' drowned out by her rapid fire questioning.

"Could Thanos have taken her? We have to find her now-"

"Jane, I know where she is. She's fine," said Steve, keeping his voice low, his hands going to her shoulders.

"Are you sure?"

"She's safe, I promise."

"Where? Where is she?"

"Yeah, Steve, where is she?" asked Natasha, eyes wide in faked innocence and mouth quirked in what Steve could only describe as mirth.

Steve frowned, shooting a glare over his shoulder in her direction, and she just smiled serenely in response. He turned his attention back to Jane, refusing to look at anyone else as he answered. "She's at my place."

Jane blinked owlishly at Steve before stepping back, his hands sliding from her shoulders.

"Oh," she replied, her eyes going wide with understanding. She seemed then to take in her surroundings. "Sorry to interrupt..." Her voice trailed off as she finally saw past Steve's large form.

"Jane," said Thor, voice cracking as he looked her over and his head shook in disbelief, "How did you come to be here?"

Her mouth opened and closed, hands fluttering uselessly at her sides as if she didn't know where to start.

"That," said Steve pulling out a chair for Jane, "is what I was starting to tell you..."

A half hour later, he finished telling them of the events up to their arrival, Wanda having joined them in the interim. The Prince of Asgard rose from his seat, pacing before he stopped to look at Jane. "I don't understand. If Darcy was the one who thwarted Thanos's plan, why is he after you?"

"The Aether left me with something," she replied with a sigh and lifted her hands, pulling off her gloves and setting her palms on the table top. Loki leaned forward with interest and Thor's expression became thunderous as her hand blackened up her forearms. "I've done some experiments with lower level life forms but I suspect I will kill anything I touch when I'm like this. The good news is I seem to be able to control it. I just wear the gloves as a precaution."

Loki started to laugh and Thor was on him, lifting him by his collar and dragging him backwards to slam him against the wall.

"Careful, brother-mine, " wheezed Loki around the fist at his throat, "or do you wish to be the last Asgardian in all of existence?"

"You will explain."

"He knows what's happening to me?" exclaimed Jane, standing abruptly.

Thor kept Loki pinned against the wall, his eyes still boring into the mocking green of his brother. "Aye. When Loki first called the Chitauri to Earth it was due to a deal he made with Thanos." With a warning tilt of his head, he released him and Loki made a show of straightening his clothes before facing Jane, a broad grin spreading over his face.

"When I first heard of Thanos, it was said he liked to court death by challenging the most powerful warriors in the universe. I thought this was unnecessary metaphorical drivel to frighten any who opposed him. Later, I learned its meaning was quite literal. He seeks companionship from Lady Death who has always shunned him. Either he thinks you are her or that you may be a way to get her attention."

"That is... just... absurd," said Jane, looking horrified and Thor turned away, his palms going to rest on the table.

"More absurd than gods of thunder, giant green monsters, and a sorcerer who can fly?" asked Natasha gently from her seat.

"Sure makes you nostalgic for the simplicity of the Cold War, doesn't it?" spoke up Tony.

"I will take Jane away, hide her," said Thor, straightening and directing his words at Steve.

"What? No!" shouted Jane, moving around the table to stand in between the two.

"Jane, you do not understand. This is power beyond Ultron, the Dark Elves, anything you or I have seen before. You must let me conceal you from him."

"What even makes you think you can?"

"I have to try."

"No. I won't. As long as he wants me, that gives us an advantage."

"Dr. Foster is right," said T'Challa. "Our last encounter with the Black Order nearly lead to the death of many of my people. At least with her and the mind stone, we know Thanos will come to us. We can use that to concentrate the fight to a remote area."

"Where?" asked Tony.

"Utah," said Natasha confidently. "SHIELD had a large facility buried in the Colorado Plateau. It's over 150,000 square miles of empty land that offers some strategic opportunities. It should be abandoned after the Hydra infiltration but still well stocked with supplies and weaponry. And if it is not empty, well, I'm sure we can handle it."

"How would we all get there?"

"Darcy," said Jane confidently.

Steve shook his head, "She can only travel to places she's seen. She has to visualize it."

"I could take the location from Natasha's mind," said Wanda, "and then put it into Darcy's. It worked on the ship."

T'Challa nodded. "We could move much of my army and scientists with ease."

Slowly they all confirmed their agreement.

"Alright then," said Steve. "So Thanos has the Reality Stone, the Space Stone, and the Soul Stone. Vision has the Mind Stone, Strange the Time Stone. Do either of you know where the Power Stone is?"

Thor shook his head, "No, but I did hear rumor of some who may. They have come in contact with the Power Stone."

"Wait, so there are others? Others who've survived touching the stones?" asked Tony.

Thor shuffled uncomfortably and frowned. "Yes."

"Well... will they join us?" asked Steve watching Thor's uncharacteristic unease with rising alarm. "Or are they going to be a problem?"

"Yes."

"To which question?" asked Steve, blinking through his confusion.

"Both."

"Big guy, help us out here," snapped Tony, his patience wearing thin.

"These people, they have fought for righteous causes in the past but have less than honorable histories. They are known to be quite... difficult..."

"Well, who are they?" asked Wanda.

Thor breathed deeply, his eyes finally meeting the others in the room.

"They call themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy."


	26. Chapter 26

Steve peeled the jacket from his shoulders, tossing it over the back of the chair and scrubbed at his face with his hands. A glance at the clock told him he'd been awake for nearly thirty hours, and his body echoed the sentiment as he stifled a yawn behind his fist. His feet, seeming of their own volition, moved to the bedroom.

 _Just to see if she's okay..._ he told himself, _then I'm on the sofa._

He couldn't see much of her except for a curl of her hair peaking out from under the comforter. She had pulled it over her head, likely to escape the late morning sun that was streaming through his window. His unconscious smile quickly faded as he hesitated in the door frame, debating on waking her to tell her of Thor's return and the destruction of Asgard. He didn't want to tell her, to see the joy of discovering their friend being alive fade to devastation... but the decision was made for him as the comforter stirred and she peered out from under it.

"Hey."

"Hey," he replied, going to sit on the edge of the bed next to her. She pulled the cover down to her neck and squinted up at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Thor is back. He's okay but Thanos destroyed Asgard... his people...they are all gone."

And there it was, wide blue eyes marred by a furrowed brow and pained sadness.

"And the stones?" she asked after a moment.

"He has three of them now."

He saw her form shake as she drew in a deep breath, her eyes closing tightly.

"We're going to try to find the third one before he does. We'll need your help."

Her watery eyes opened and she nodded. "Of course. How?" she asked, starting to sit up, finger swiping at her tears.

His hand caught hers, squeezing it gently. "It can wait a couple more hours. Everyone needs some rest right now."

Her eyes flicked over him and she shimmied further away on the bed, tugging on his hand but stopped when he didn't move.

"I'm pretty sure 'everyone' includes you," she said, her eyes narrowing as she gave a more solid tug that barely made him waver. He hesitated before toeing off his shoes and following her under the covers.

"Arm up," Darcy grumbled, jabbing her finger into his shoulder. He lifted it and she slid under, resting her head on his chest. He lowered his arm slowly, the intimacy of the moment making him uncertain, though it was not unwelcome. His palm rested over the small of her back, fingers sliding over the notches of her spine, and he felt her soft sigh flutter over his shirt.

In that moment, in that charmless grey room, he was struck with a sudden clarity that he wanted to fully experience this aspect of life that seemed to forever elude him. But not just that...

He wanted her.

And it was terrifying.

* * *

Bucky threw his remaining arm over his eyes as he tried again to get some sleep. It felt pointless... he never slept much anymore. Half buried memories always seemed to find him in the middle of the night, wresting him from sleep and washing him in waves of regret and self loathing. He pushed himself up, giving up any chance of further rest just as the door to his hospital room opened and he froze, the cold dread magnifying as he took in his new visitor.

He could see the man's jaw twitch as he stepped in, the door closing with a deafening click behind him. Without a word, Tony Stark moved to the chair at the far end of the room before dragging it over to better be in his line of sight. He straightened his lapels and sat, his arms folding over his chest.

"Tell me about my father," he said.

Bucky's eyes dropped to the floor. Of course... he should have known Stark would make him tell him everything about that night.

"I didn't recognize him at the time... his name, his face-"

"No," interrupted Tony. "Tell me about him in the war. He talked about you, Steve, and Aunt Peggy all the time but never about himself, or what he did. I want to know."

Buck ran his fingers through his short hair, a habit he had picked up before he had cut it... or maybe he had always done it. "I don't remember time correctly," he said, clearing his throat. "Its mostly a jumble and there's some gaps."

Tony sighed, and leaned back. "Just do your best, Algernon."

* * *

"Jane!" came Thor's booming voice behind her and she froze, her fists clenching nervously at her sides.

"Yes? What do you need?" she asked, and turned, working hard to keep her voice from wavering.

Thor stopped in front of her, his expression appearing hurt. "Jane," he said again, his voice much softer and edged with a plea.

She glanced down, unable to maintain eye contact when he looked at her like that.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Jane sighed, her eyes lifting as her shoulders slumped. "No. You?"

"No."

They shared a sad smile and Jane felt the tension drain from her shoulders.

"I'm so sorry about Asgard. It was beautiful... _they_ were beautiful."

She watched his Adam's apple bob in a thick swallow and he nodded his thanks. She reached out her hand to squeeze his before she turned to leave.

"Please reconsider my offer," he said before she could step away. "You do not need to be here when Thanos arrives."

"I do," she said gently but firmly. "I know you think I'm helpless-"

"I don't-"

"Or that I just don't have a grasp of what is going on."

"I-"

"But I'm not and I do, and I need to be here. If can contribute just one thing that helps, I need to be here."

"That is what he wants Jane. You're playing right into his hands."

"This my home. My family, my friends, my work... everything I am started here and I'm not leaving. Surely, you can respect that."

"I do. And I can admit I am wholly selfish when I ask you to hide," he said, stepping closer to her. "I have lost everything. The only connections I have left in the universe are under this roof and in Thanos' sights. I could not bear to lose you as well."

Jane stepped into him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"You can't save me from this, Thor."

He said nothing and just threaded his fingers into her hair, holding her to him. After a few moments, she pulled back, clearing her throat. It hurt how much she had missed this, how much she had missed him.

"I have to go," she said. His only response was a nod and the feel of his eyes on her back as she walked away.


	27. Chapter 27

Jane was looking around the hanger, wondering why she had been summoned when she was startled by Tony Stark coming to stand beside her.

"Twitchy little thing, aren't you? The salvage operation from the Atlantic was a success," he said to her, nodding at a ship approaching in the distance. "T'Challa wants us to take a look at the equipment, see if we can make any sense of it.. He thought we'd best to assist the head of his technology department."

"Who would that be? Anybody we know?" she asked, her hair starting to whip around face as the ship got closer.

Tony shrugged. "The technology I've seen here can rival... and often surpasses... what we have at Stark Industries," he replied begrudgingly, sliding his sunglasses into his pocket. "Whomever it is, they know what they're doing." His last words were shouted as the cargo ship landed, the back door lowering to touch the floor of the hanger. A young woman stepped out, immediately giving orders in Wankandan to her subordinates as they started unloading crate after crate. She walked over to Jane and Tony, her eyes passing over them both.

"Mr. Stark, Dr. Foster. I am Princess Shuri and I welcome you to my division."

A slow smile spread over Jane's face, enjoying the brief confusion of Tony who looked back at the sleek ship and back to the young Princess.

"You're the head of the Wakandan defense department? You designed that? The magnetic propulsion engines that-"

"That utilize the surrounding vibrainum to maintain the near-perpetual motion and save on fuel?" she interrupted, "Yes, that would be me."

Tony's head cocked to the side. "Vibrainium isn't magnetic."

Princess Shuri smirked in response. "It is if you run a current through it. But you already knew that. I saw the tech on Captain Roger's suit."

Tony smiled, shooting a quick glance in Jane's direction. "Oh, this is going to be fun."

The Princess walked away, motioning for them to follow. "Come, we have much to do. And you still have much to learn about Vibranium."

* * *

Darcy blinked at the practice bo staff that had stopped just millimeters from her face.

"Fuck," she muttered under her breath, and she sighed, dropping her fighting stance.

Clint drew back the weapon, spinning it leisurely before tapping it down on the ground and leaning against it. "You managed to avoid most of them. Nice use of the portals."

"Sorry about severing the other two."

He shrugged, "Better them than my arm. I think we can call it a day."

Darcy nodded, turning away to get her water when Clint spoke again.

"Darcy, I... uh... I need to ask you a a favor."

She turned back around, surprised to see the archer looking troubled.

"My family... they all suffered in that last attack. Even the baby. " He moved to the weapons stand, setting the bo in its designated slot. "I need to get them out of here. I have a friend who will take them in and keep them safe until this is all over. But-"

She took a step towards him, hand raised to stop any further inquiry. "Of course I'll do it."

He smiled, looking both sad and grateful for a second before it disappeared. "Thank you. I'd like to do it soon. Can you meet us at my place in an hour?"

"Yeah, sure."

They parted ways and she walked back to her room, choosing to save any energy to portal the Bartons. Her stamina with creating and holding portals seemed to increase every day, but she withheld, just in case this turned out more complex than she anticipated. A quick shower and change of clothes later, she was turning down the final hall, unsurprised to see Wanda leaning against Hawkeye's door.

"They're getting a last few things,"she said to Darcy and straightened. "He's given me the location. I can put it in your mind now, if you'd like."

Darcy nodded and closed her eyes as Wanda's hand reached for her, tendrils of red already starting to leach from them. The gray black was overtaken by foamy waters crashing against sheer gray and green cliffs, her focus narrowing in on a simple cottage perched upon one.

"Got it?" asked Wanda as the scene faded and the door opened.

"You show her?"

Wanda nodded and Clint waved them in. His two eldest children stood in the living room holding their bags while their mother shushed the baby strapped to her chest. He picked up the remaining two bags and nodded at Darcy. A second later, the portal was created, the energy rippling the air in front of them. She stepped through first, relieved to see they were indeed on the very cliffs she'd seen. The Bartons followed through, and she waited as they walked to the cottage and greeted an old man. Clint shook his hand in greeting, the wind stealing their voices though they were less than ten yards away.

Darcy turned away to give them privacy, opting instead to admire the gorgeous view before her and wondered what it would be like to dive off of one with her portals. She smiled at the thought. Clint had been right, mastery was the best option. Creating the portals almost felt like second nature to her now, easier than falling. She examined her hands, letting the atoms phase and they became translucent. She pushed harder, the effect moving up her arms, and starting to crest her shoulders, further than she had ever allowed it before.

What would happen, she wondered, if she let it overtake her whole body?

A high pitched wail had her dropping her power. She turned around to see Lila launch herself at her father's middle, holding onto him as her shoulders shook with what Darcy could only assume were sobs. He lifted her into his arms, squeezing her tightly before setting her down next to her mother. He walked away quickly and Darcy could see the conflict in him, the strength it took for him to take those steps. He nodded at her, something close to a plea in his eyes and she created the portal, both stepping through. The punishing wind of the cliffs was gone and they were once again in the cool grey halls of the complex.

"I'm sorry," she said, not knowing what else to say.

"I can protect them best from here," he replied, his voice steady and sure.

"If you ever want to go back, even just for a minute, just say the word."

He scoffed. " I want to go back now." He sighed, turning to face her fully. " I appreciate it, I really do, but I don't want to do anything that might draw Thanos' attention to them anymore." He stepped away from her then, into his large and now empty quarters.

"Thanks again, Darcy," he said over his shoulder and closed the door.


	28. Chapter 28

Darcy adjusted the pack on her shoulder, looking around the room, an odd mix of excitement and dread coursing through her. Most of the people present were officers she recognized but the rest of her designated team had not arrived yet. That was to be expected as she was early, and she shuffled from foot to foot, her nerves making her restless. She couldn't believe this was happening... like, actually happening...

 _I am leaving Earth. The solar system. Maybe th_ e _Galaxy._

The weight of it made her heart skip as those thoughts rolled around over and over in her head, almost to the point they had lost meaning. She tried to think of something else to quell the existential crisis that was starting to build.

 _Thor..._. she thought, _he's an alien and a powerful one at that. Our very own Viking tour guide._

She smiled, picturing Thor leading a group of camera happy tourists through an alien landscape, cheerfully pointing out all the sites of his victories.

 _He'd clean up on tips._

Wanda would be coming as well and Darcy figured there were few things in the universe that could match the young woman's abilities. And, of course, there was Steve.

Darcy's heart skipped again, this time for an entirely different reason. She hadn't seen much of Steve in the past week. Since Thor's return, he was busy preparing for the initial strike out into Utah and Clint was pushing her further and harder in training before he left on his mission with Natasha. As a result, they were mostly just able to smile at each other from across busy rooms before being swept away to somewhere else where they were needed.

She had considered just portaling to his room, and asking boldly if he wanted her to stay... for the company... and to sleep, not sex... unless somehow that came to pass and they were okay with it... but it wasn't expected... and not that she thought they were anywhere close to that level in their relationship after a couple kisses... but with the end of the world and all, if it happened, well, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

And that was why she hadn't. She couldn't think of a single way to brooch the subject without going into complete verbal nuclear meltdown and making it painfully awkward.

Heavy foot steps approaching drew her attention and she turned to see which of her companions was coming to join her. Thor smiled at her as he approached, the edges of the expression not quite meeting his eyes as she looked him over, seeing him now for the first time since his arrival. She couldn't blame him for barely leaving his rooms and she did not want to intrude on his grief, it being and exceptionally personal thing.

 _Some find solace in company, others in solitude_.

"Darcy," he nodded in greeting. "It is good to see you."

She was relieved he wasn't wearing the red cape she had last seen crushed under so much rubble.

"You too," she said before taking a cleansing breath. " You actually have no idea how good it is to see you'

"Ahh, yes," he said, lifting Mjolnir. "Steven told me of what you endured and what you did. I am grateful to you, we all are."

She waved off his praise. "It was nothing that any of you wouldn't have done. I'm just grateful Mew -Mew was available. She really saved my butt." Darcy reached forward, giving the hammer a fist bump, ignoring the raised eyebrow of Thor as she did so. "I doubt my taser would have been as effective."

"Your lightning box. Did you bring it with you?"

Darcy smiled and patted her bag. "Lucy? Oh, yeah. Of course I brought her."

One golden eyebrow quirked again in response. "You call it Lucy?"

"Short for Lucifer. Not as epic as Mjolnir, but I like it."

He laughed lightly as he absent-mindedly tapped the face of the hammer against his palm before he stopped abruptly.

"You raised my weapon in battle after I had fallen," said Thor quietly as he looked from the hammer to Darcy, his expression thoughtful. "There are very few that could have done that. That makes you my Shield Sister, Darcy Lewis. " He smiled at her, this time the movement meeting his eyes.

"Steve said it made me a princess, but I think I like Shield Sister better."

They lapsed into silence before Darcy spoke again.

"I'm sorry, about Asgard, I mean..."

"Thank you, Darcy. I will properly mourn my people when we destroy Thanos. Until then, this is where I can best honor them all." He clapped his hand briefly on her shoulder before looking around the buzzing hanger. "I heard Clint and Natasha have found things acceptable in Utah."

"Yeah. We got lucky it was abandoned," said Darcy, nodding as she recalled the mission yesterday. It had not required much from her... just holding a portal open while Clint and Natasha's team did a sweep, Cap leading the way. "Natasha said it would take a couple of days but they're going to get things operational and we'll start the big move once we return."

Wanda walked up at that moment, pulling a strap to secure her bag. Steve trailed behind her as he spoke with T'Challa. The two men stopped just at the edge of their circle, the King nodding at each of them in turn.

"I wish you luck, my friends. Return safely to us, if you can."

He clapped his hand on Steve's shoulder before moving on to oversee another aspect of the preparation.

"Alright, Thor, where are we going?" asked Steve, affixing his shield to his back.

"A member of the guardians has associates within a criminal organization known as the Ravagers. While they do not have a base of central operations, they do frequent an outpost known as T'lok Station, a cesspool without any governing body and without any federation control. I think it likely we will find a lead there."

"Sounds lovely," muttered Darcy as Wanda placed two fingers from one hand at Thor's temple and grabbed her hand with the other. Soon the bustling noise of the small hanger faded and a monstrosity of metal spun languidly in her mind's eye, piles of debris orbiting it in the blackness of space. The image fluttered away, transforming into a dark corridor, illuminated only by the the pale red glow of a flickering screen with some alien script written upon it. Wanda's hand slipped away and the noise around her returned.

"Okay, I got it," she said, nodding to no one in particular as she turned away from them her hand outstretched. It wavered as she looked over her shoulder at Thor.

"Say, how far away is this place?"

The large man shrugged one shoulder. "Not far... couldn't be more than, by my estimation, fifty... maybe sixty-thousand of your 'light years' away."

"Oh, just that then?" she remarked, returning her attention to the empty air in front of her, relieved to see it start to shimmer immediately and stepped forward. Steve's hand wrapped around her upper arm and she stopped, looking at him with confusion.

"Let Thor and I go first. If you've missed, we're most likely to survive getting spaced."

She raised an eyebrow. "The fact that the giant vacuum of space isn't sucking the air out of here right now is probably proof I didn't."

"Fair point, but still."

"I get it. We're the mages, you two are the tanks. Simple battle strategy."

He looked as if he was going to ask but shrugged it off as he seemed to get the implied meaning, moving forward with Thor through the portal, Wanda and Darcy just behind. She took in her surroundings once through, having to blink in the dim light of the corridor as her eyes adjusted and she breathed in the new air, tasting the metallic tang that reminded her of rust and oil. She shot Steve a smug smile when she realized she had set them perfectly where she had wanted. He tilted his head in acknowledgement and looked to Thor.

"Alright, Thor, lead the way. Wanda stay at his side. Darcy and I will follow behind."

They filed out of the narrow space into what appeared to be a bustling marketplace, a faint steady hum seeping from the floor into her boots. Her eyes went wide at the sights before her... a man with blue skin the color of sapphires, another that appeared human except for a huge metallic red mo-hawk, a creature with over sized fish-like eyes and pointed teeth that walked up-right with a... a... was that a gun belt on its hip? And was it wearing leather pants?

One group passed her, their clicked and grunted language catching her attention. She nearly tripped as a large rhinoceros-faced person batted away a pushy merchant that would have tumbled into her if Steve hadn't moved to keep him upright. Everywhere she looked there were creatures and wares and equipment unlike she'd ever seen before..

"Wait here," said Thor as he stepped up to one booth, speaking to the owner before pulling a small disk from his pocket. The merchant scanned it with an approving nod then reached under his shelves and handed Thor three small boxes.

"Here," he said, handing one to each of them. "They are universal translators so you may be aware of all that is going on around you. Say a few words so it may select your native tongue."

Darcy opened hers and withdrew the small earpiece that slid seamlessly into place.

"Hello? Testing... Houston, are we going to have a problem?"

A second later, a high-pitched wail crackled in her ear, a thin robotic voice ringing throughout her head.

"Analysis complete. Selection: English. Source: Terra"

A moment later the chattering and grunting transformed, now perfectly understandable.

"Whoa," she muttered and pointed to her ear while looking at Thor. "I am so keeping this."

The heavy traffic of the marketplace thinned as they moved to a lesser lit area, base heavy music emanating from within.

"The Ravagers have been known to frequent this establishment," said Thor pressing a button next to a glass partition. It slid back with hiss as they stepped inside and Darcy was struck by the familiarity of the metallic counter top with tall stools, some of which barely doing their job to keep their swaying occupants upright.

"Huh," she said, "I guess a bar is still a bar, no matter which solar system you're in."

"Follow me," said Thor as he began to weave through the crowd towards the sounds of raucous cheering and shouts. Darcy recoiled as they got closer, a large group of aliens standing around a small arena with these hairless, rat-like creatures fighting in the center.

"Intergalactic cockfighting. Of course that would be universal too."

Her voice trailed off as she watched a gorgeous pink skinned woman step up to Thor, one graceful arm draping over his neck. He caught it in mid-motion, removing it from his body as he looked at her disinterestedly. The woman scowled at him but nevertheless, slunk away, her eyes moving to Steve who shook his head in a firm 'no'.

"Stay here," he said and left them in a darkened corner, pushing past the throng. It was difficult for Darcy to keep track of Thor, only flashes of him visible between the moving people as he spoke to a man at the far side of the fighting pit. He was a huge, portly looking creature that appeared to be laughing at the inquiry and Thor's frowned deepened with every passing second. He made his way back to them after a few minutes, leaving the man and his double chins to continue taking his bets.

"He said the Ravagers have broke with the Guardians for their own preservation. A society called 'The Sovereign' are hunting them with their ample resources. No Ravager can tell us of their location."

"That's not entirely true," said Wanda, her eyes fixed on a point across the room. The man with the red mohawk Darcy had seen earlier was staring at them, a deep look of suspicion etched on his face. "He doesn't know where they are, exactly, but he knows how to get in touch with them."

The thin man finished his drink and rested his hand on the lapel of his jacket before jerking his head for them to follow.

"You lookin' for the Guardians of the Galaxy?" he asked once they were again outside and Darcy blinked at him in surprise... he sounded like he just stepped out of a holler in West Virginia.

"Yes," said Steve as the man eyed him up. "Could you tell us where to find them?"

"What do you want with 'em?"

"Looking to hire them for job."

"What's the job?"

"That's something we can only discuss with them."

"What's the price?"

"The highest imaginable," said Thor, voice grave.

The Ravager's eyes narrowed he seemed to consider their request.

"And let's say I knew how to get in contact with them, who should I say is askin'?"

"Thor of Asgard, son of Odin."

The Ravager's eyes widened and he stepped back from their party. "It's true, then? Asgard is gone?"

Thor gave one solemn nod. "Now you know why we are here."

The thin man swallowed thickly. "Alright, I'll ask them. Just... just stay here."

"Is he telling the truth?" asked Steve to Wanda once the man was out of earshot.

"Yes. He was with them the last time they saved the Galaxy. He thinks they will help again... even more so if the price is right."

"I don't like the idea of working with mercenaries," said Steve, frowning. "Their loyalty is only to the highest bidder."

"I..." said Wanda, her face screwing up in confusion, "I don't think they're like that... it's hard to get a read on them from his head but he thinks highly of them. He considers them good people."

Darcy bit the inside of her cheek as she watched the mo-hawked man walk away, his form quickly obscured by a burst of steam from a nearby vent.

"Depends of what his definition of good is, I suppose."


	29. Chapter 29

Darcy eyed the hunk of metal before her, inspecting it for popped rivets or breaks in the seams of the heavy plating. The mohawked man, Kraglin, as he had introduced himself upon his return, patted the dinged up ship affectionately before turning to the rest of them as if waiting for their looks of awe and wonder.

Thor nodded after a quick once over. "It'll do."

Kraglin scowled but activated the hatch so they could step inside. "It won't take long. It's just fifty clicks to the jump point and then just a few more to their location."

"I'm not sure I'd trust this thing to survive as a prop at an amusement park, let alone for space travel," Darcy muttered to Steve as she continued past the industrial and rough surroundings. He looked around and shrugged.

"You should have seen some of the rigs we flew in the war. Looked like they were barely holding together but they could do their job and take a hit-"

His voice cut off as a valve popped off a pipe in the ceiling, ricocheting off the wall to roll to a stop at their feet.

"I sure hope that wasn't something important," sighed Darcy, giving Steve a worried glance.

He frowned. "I'm sure its fine but... be ready just in case we need to make a quick exit."

"Fantastic," she replied, stepping over the loose piece to climb the stairs.

* * *

Tony wiped the grease from his hands onto a nearby rag and hesitated with his fist over the door frame. His decision final, he rapped the back of his knuckles against the metal.

Princess Shuri turned back from the large holographic diagram in front of her and motioned for him to enter.

"Nicely done, Mr. Stark," she said with the nod to the rotating machinery in front of them.

"Still have a bug or two to work out, but it should be functional enough to repel any further sonic attacks. So yes, nicely done."

She waved and the image disappeared before turning to him with a smile. "So did you need something or did you just come here for praise of your work?"

"Well, I do always crave the adoration of others but in this case it is more of the former. I got a special project and I need some vibranium."

Shuri turned to face him fully, her hands going to her hips and her eyebrow raised. "Looking to change your name to Vibranium Man?"

"Nah, doesn't have quite the same ring to it," said Tony as he shook his head and tossed the dirty rag into the trash bin. "It's not for me."

The Princess clucked her tongued and looked him over before she turned away and punched some input into a nearby keyboard. "I've given you access to our raw materials. You have our permission as long as it is for the war effort."

"It is," he assured her.

* * *

Darcy felt a sinking pit of dread in her abdomen as they entered the atmosphere of this planet, white swirls of what she could only assume was snow flying over the glass window of the bridge. Though she had brought extra clothes, she really hadn't packed a jacket that could withstand this type of weather to Africa at all, let alone on this trip. She briefly considered portaling to her closet in New Mexico once they landed, but they were all currently keeping their powers hidden and she didn't know who else might be watching them on the ship. Steve looked from the window to her, and frowned before removing the gloves from his hands.

"Here," he said handing them to her.

"No, you'll need them."

"The cold doesn't effect me like it will you and Wanda's magic can keep her warm. And Thor... well, I'm sure he'll be fine. Take them."

She reluctantly took them, sliding them over her bare fingers. She struggled for a moment when he reached over to cinch the leather straps more securely around her wrists.

"Like a glove," she said with a smile, flapping them in the air to show how comically large they were on her. He grimaced and she could tell he was trying to think of something else as he pulled his pack from his shoulder. She reached out, stilling his movements.

"I'm sure we'll be able to get indoors somewhere. I'll be fine."

Kraglin shouldered between them to the pilot's chair, taking the controls for the landing. Darcy braced herself as the hatch opened, the snow stinging needles against her cheeks, and filed out behind the others. Her boots sunk up to her mid calves and she wrapped her arms around her torso. She tried to use Steve's bulk to block the wind but it seemed to come from every direction and she instead kept her eyes focused downward, stepping into the footprints ahead of her. She looked up when they finally stopped, surprised by the behemoth structures in front of her, as large as the skyscrapers that were so pervasive in New York. Something seemed odd and out of place and she realized as they stepped into the echoing chamber with snow drifts piled inside that all were abandoned.

A man with a robotic appearing mask, eyes red and glowing, stepped out from the shadows, his hand poised over the weapon under his long red coat. Kraglin stepped to the side, his eyes passing between them.

"There are five others," murmured Wanda. "They just want to talk."

"Starlord," said Thor, stepping forward. "I am Thor, son of Odin of Asgard and in my company are some of the mightiest warriors from planet Earth. Steve Rogers..." Thor extended one hand in the Captain's direction and the masked figured started to laugh.

"Steve Rogers?" he asked between guffaws. "As in Captain America? The Star Spangled Man with a Plan?"

Steve's brow furrowed and he and Thor exchanged glances. "How do you know that name?"

The figure shrugged. "And these other two would be... let me guess... Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt. Did you even try to research Terra before you came here?"

"You're from Earth," said Steve chin raising in realization. "Where?"

Darcy felt a bit of hope ignite within her. If the Guardians were from Earth, surely they would want to help...

The Guardian shook his head, his hand slowly wrapping around the hilt of his weapon. "Though you got the look for it, you're not very good at playing dumb. No deal on the job. I suggest you leave now, and quietly if you want to leave at-" The man stopped speaking, his free hand moving to press at his ear. "Shit," he muttered.

Wanda widened her stance, her reddened hands going out to her sides. "We've got company," she said turning to face the entrance way, away from the Guardian.

"Who?" asked Steve detaching his shield and mirroring her stance. Thor spun Mjolnir within his palm.

"Mercs. Hired by the people looking for them."

Darcy heard the soft hiss of jet propulsion and looked behind her to see the man propel himself into the rafters to disappear in the shadows. She looked back to the doors, shadowy figures approaching through the falling snow, and used her teeth to pull the gloves from her wrists as the first mercenary breached the doors. The others filed in behind him, quickly spreading out into a crescent around her and her small party, their weapons raised.


	30. Chapter 30

The mercenaries in the center parted as the largest of them made his way through, towering over the others as he passed. His skin, if it even was skin, was sharp and jagged such that if she hadn't seen the rippling of muscle underneath, Darcy would have been sure he was made of rock.

"The guardians?" it sneered at the four of them, voice sounding as if his cords were covered in gritty sandpaper.

"Not here," lied Steve, letting his shield drop to his side in feigned relaxation. "We're looking for them too, if you've got any leads."

The leader grunted and several clicks emanated from the surrounding guns.

"WHERE ARE THEY?" it asked again, voice echoing in the empty room.

Steve sighed. "I guess we're doing this."

"Yep," said Thor, unleashing Mjolnir from his grasp and the hammer collided with the leader's face, sending him flying back from the crowd into the wall. A veil of red energy enveloped them as Wanda used her power to deflect the gun fire and Steve's shield flew out of Darcy's field of view. She backed up, sliding Lucy from her pack and created a portal under the nearest group of mercs. She didn't wait to see their reactions as they disappeared and ran as Wanda's magic fell, stepping though a portal to take cover behind a column. Bullets struck the metal behind her head and she reflexively covered her ears to deafen the sound.

"Holy shit," she gasped, heart racing. A flash of green and steel flew past her and she looked up to see a woman sprint forward, sword raised over her head as she advanced on the horde. The building shook as explosions started to strike the walls around her, rubble crashing to the floor and Darcy set portals under several pieces, letting them gather speed. She peered around her cover and created her exit portals, the concrete hunks slamming into her enemies, bouncing as they bowled through them. She winced away from the brutality.

 _Yep, they are definitely dead._

Another explosion sent her scrambling from cover and she had to portal to avoid being struck with debris, dropping herself randomly into the fray.

 _Oh, fuck me._

She looked up to see a merc now bearing down on her, his glowing bladed weapon swinging for her head. She blocked it just in time, the strike passing through a portal instead of her neck, and the man howled in pain as his own blade sliced his back. He lunged at her again. This time Darcy evaded by dropping behind him and jammed Lucy into his back, his body shuddering as he dropped to the ground.

A grunt from Wanda had her turning around and Darcy sprinted toward her companion who had stumbled, mercenaries starting to close in on her. She passed through a portal to reach them more quickly, a flat disc bouncing on the floor in between herself and the enemies. A high pitched whine emanated from it as it snapped open and she found herself dragged forcibly to it, along with the men who had tried to attack Wanda. Vaguely she registered the sounds their bones cracking as the item pulled them in, crushing them.

Her fingers dug uselessly into the snow drifts until a rough, brown rope shot out to wrap around her wrist, stopping her in place.

 _Wait, not a rope..._

Her eyes tracked up and she completely forgot about her current situation as she stared at a walking tree with raccoon on it's shoulder, the latter of which was wielding a gun almost as large as he was.

 _That's it. I've gone and finally died. This is my brain dying. It has to be because WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!_

She wasn't sure but she may have shouted that last part as the creature pulled her out of the effect field and deposited her on her feet. A hot trickle of blood was working its way down her temple and she touched it, tender but grateful it did not appear to be another laceration. A quick glance around told her the mercenary group was nearly subdued as Steve kicked one of the few remaining upright through a glass partition.

"You okay?" he asked, jogging toward them.

"Yea," she replied a little stunned as she rubbed her wrist. "Except... dammit, I lost Lucy when that thing went off."

"Lucy?"

"My... oh, never mind," she replied, a little forlornly. That taser had been with her for some of the most eventful moments of her life. He turned her chin toward him to get a better look at the wound on her head, and she was surprised to see his expression stricken.

"What? It didn't seem to be that bad..."

"It's not," he said stepping back, his face assuming the standard stoic mask. "The bullet only grazed you."

It took a moment for her brain to register his words, that she had nearly been shot in the head and her mouth opened in her shock. Movement caught her eye and she was grateful for the distraction of the raccoon who had just dismounted from the tree's shoulder. "Uh, thanks for the help back there."

He sniffed disdainfully in her direction. "Well, try not to be useless next time."

"Have care how you speak to her," said Thor as he entered their circle. "Lady Darcy has saved the universe and you along with it."

"I am Groot," said the tree, gesturing with one of its branches to her.

"Pffft," replied the raccoon, rolling its eyes. "We've done that twice already. Big deal."

Thor glared down at the raccoon as the remaining Guardians joined them, two of which Darcy was just now seeing... a monstrous blue skinned shirtless man and a meek appearing woman, her glowing antennae bobbing gently with every step. The red coated guardian tapped his ear, his mask melting away.

"Sorry about that gravity-well grenade. Dude, you came out of no where-"

"Peter!" hissed the green woman before turning her attention back to them. "Who are you people?"

"I'm Steve Rogers, this is Thor Odinson, Wanda Maximoff, and Darcy Lewis. We're part of an Earth based defense force called the Avengers."

The woman tensed.

"You've heard of us?"

"Only in passing," she replied, glancing sideways at Peter. "What do you want?"

"We're looking for an infinity stone. Rumor has it, you've come in contact with it and know where it is. "

"What do you want with it?" asked Peter, his eyes narrowing.

"Just want to keep it out of another's hands."

"It's safe and secure, that's all you need to know."

"With all due respect ma'am, it's not. Not from Thanos." The blue man's fists tightened over the hilts of his blades.

"It's protected."

"Wherever it is, whatever you have looking after it, it's not enough. Not when he's already got three others."

The woman fell silent, sharing a long look with her companions. "Three?"

"Three. We have two on Earth and he's coming for them after he gets this one. We're hoping to get to it first."

"It can't be done," said the Raccoon. "It's a couple hundred jumps just to the Stone itself and then several hundred more to Earth. It'll take us months and we ain't got that kind of time."

Steve's eyes fell onto Darcy.

"Yea, about that..."

* * *

"So, you can teleport out of anything, anywhere?" asked Rocket, hopping up on a box in the hold of the ship. "Through quantum-electromagnetic fields? Photon shields? Anything?"

"Well," said Darcy slowly, "I haven't tried all of those but so far... yeah."

"So you're telling me you could break out of any prison?"

Steve hid his smirk behind his hand, amused at how quickly Rocket's disdain for Darcy had turned into full on heart eyes.

 _She has that effect on people._

The smile dropped from his face as he remembered her head wound.

 _So close._

He pushed down the uncomfortable feeling in his gut and continued on to the bridge. Peter sat himself down at the controls and glanced back at him then to Gamora.

"You know, I had every single one of his comic books as a kid. I'd pretend I was part of the Howling Commandos in the woods behind my house."

"Does that mean David Hasselhoff is real too?" she asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

"Uh...No," he replied, looking a little embarrassed back at the Captain. "How did you survive anyway?"

"The scientists weren't completely sure but thought my cells were able to heal themselves as the freezing was damaging them, effectively keeping me in a state of animation until I could be thawed out."

"Cool," replied Peter.

"Yes," said Drax with a sage nod. "He would have to be cooled to be frozen."

"That's not what I... never mind," sighed Peter, hitting some buttons on the console, and the ship rose into the air. The lurch of the craft caused Mantis to miss her seat and fall to the floor. Steve reached down, offering her his hand to pull her up. She looked at it uncertain before taking it. He tried to pull his hand back once she was steadied but she gripped it a little tighter, her eyes watering as she smiled back at him, her antennae glowing.

"Thank you," she said in a whisper.

"No trouble," he replied, perplexed at her response as his hand finally slid from hers.

"Yo," shouted Peter from his seat. "Wonder twins, you're up."

Darcy and Wanda moved up behind him, Wanda's hand reaching for his head.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Xandar."


	31. Chapter 31

"Whoa," muttered Peter as Xandar appeared, large and looming, as the ship passed through what had seemed to be no more than an inky blot of space. Darcy's mouth twisted in an attempt to hide the small surge of pride she felt at his surprise and Rocket folded his arms over his chest, giving her a sly side eye.

"What are your feelings on heists?" he asked.

"What?" she replied, turning to give him a perplexed look.

"Stealing. How do you feel about stealing? From bad people only, of course."

"Recruit her later, Rocket. We've got a problem," said Gamora as the ship passed through the first layers of atmosphere to breech the white clouds. Below, where the shining, sprawling headquarters of the Nova Corp once stood as Wanda had put it in her mind, there was nothing but rubble and ash with smoke from the sporadically burning fires reaching up to them.

"No," breathed out Darcy looking at the destruction beneath them, her hand reaching behind her as if on its own accord to find Steve's, his warm grip encasing her fingers.

It was little comfort.

They were too late.

They had failed.

Gamora stood suddenly from the co-pilot's chair as Peter watched her, concerned and wary, as she paced agitated and breathing heavily. She wrapped her hands around a metal ledge in the ship, gripping it so tightly, her body shook with the effort. Peter snapped up from his chair to go to her, his hands resting gently on her shoulders until she stopped. When she released the metal frame, her finger indentations remained. Their eyes met as she turned around, and Darcy felt as if she should look away as he reached up, Peter's hands cupping either side of her face. Gamora gave him Just a single nod which he returned before stepping away from her.

Gamora straightened and marched back to the comm, furiously putting in inputs and a few seconds later a screen flashed to life, a blue skinned woman with eyes black and fathomless appearing before them.

"What is it?" asked the woman, her voice having an electronic timber void of any emotion.

"How many jumps are you from Xandar?"

"Not many."

"Can you get here in the next couple hours?"

The woman reached down out of frame of the video feed, seeming to enter some data before looking back up with a nod. "Even sooner." She tilted her head suspiciously. "Why?" she asked, her voiced taking on a harsher quality, like gears grinding together.

Gamora's chin dropped as she gave her a meaningful look. "Family reunion."

The other woman just stared back at her, unmoving except for a twitch of her upper lip that was nearly a snarl. "What changed your mind, sister?"

"He has four of the infinity stones. He has to die before he gets the rest."

The woman's head jerked unnaturally as her face contorted in barely contained rage.

"I'm making the jump now," she growled and reached out, killing the feed.

"Who was that?" asked Steve, his hand sliding from Darcy as he stepped forward and she flexed her fingers, feeling the loss acutely.

Gamora breathed in deeply before turning to face them. "My sister, Nebula. We were both taken by Thanos as children, forced to train and fight and murder to become agents of his will. He called us his daughters..." She paused to scoff. "He had many daughters. We were the only two that survived his particular style of parenting. While I would not describe Nebula as 'good', she can be relied upon to fight our father. We will need all the help we can get."

"Speaking of help," said Wanda, leaning forward to peer out the glass. "There." She pointed one long finger out at a spot below, an expression somewhere between a smirk and a grimace gracing her features. Rocket vaulted into Peter's previously occupied seat, taking the controls.

"What is it?" asked Darcy, trying to see anything interesting in the area she had indicated as they zoomed closer.

"I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you."

* * *

Of all the things Darcy thought might be down in the ruins of an alien city, she did not anticipate the sport coat, T-shirt clad, sneaker wearing Dr. Banner.

"Bruce?" she heard Steve ask behind her, sounding almost as incredulous as she felt.

The doctor spun around from where he had been standing and pushed his glasses further up on his nose, eyes squinting to see them better before taking a stumbling step in their direction. He smiled, looking at each of his friends in turn, reaching out to shake their hands.

"Steve, Thor!"

The light in his eyes dropped when he saw Wanda.

"Maximoff," he greeted with a professional nod, though his voice was clipped and sharp. Darcy looked between the two, taking in the embarrassed flush of Wanda's face as she looked away, wondering what she could have done to earn the ire of the Hulk.

"How the hell are you guys here?" asked the scientist, scratching his head before a look of dismay crossed his features. "Tony didn't invent a hyperdrive or something did he? He's gonna blow up half the planet one of these days."

"No, no," replied Steve, looking back at the guardians who were giving them a polite distance. "No hyper-drive thing, just uh... its a little complicated. But we came looking for the infinity stones."

Bruce nodded, his face looking grim. "Yea, same. We heard one was being kept by the Nova Corp. We just got here but it looks like we're too late."

"Who's we?" asked Darcy, drawing Bruce's attention to her for the first time since he spotted them.

"Ms. Lewis!" a deep voice snapped from behind her and Darcy groaned, recognizing it immediately. She turned, folding her arms across her chest in a somewhat petulant defiance to stare up at Dr. Steven Strange who had perched himself imperiously on top of a large pile of rubble.

"I see reports of mastery of your new talents have not been exaggerated. Consider me pleasantly surprised," he called down to her.

She glared back up at him. "I could throw you into the sun, you know."

To her surprise, he smiled and his body shook with a chuckle she could not hear as he descended to join them on the ground.

"So this is where you've been," she stated.

"Yes. Using sorcery, I was able to travel here, much like you, with little loss of time. I have been trying to find the Stones. I encountered Dr. Banner on Sakaar where he had exiled himself for the past three years and he agreed to assist me."

"You exiled yourself?" asked Wanda.

"I figured it was safer this way," replied the Doctor. "Go someplace where the Other guy could have free reign and do minimal harm... keep him from being used by others to hurt innocent people."

Darcy didn't miss the hard edge in Banner's stare before he looked away, effectively closing the door on that line of questioning.

"So when did this happen?" She asked, gesturing around her. "How long has he had the stone?"

"From the looks of it, a little more than a day," said Steve sounding weary, his eyes drifting over the smoking ruins about them. "Thanos will be getting ready for an all out offensive assault. We have to return home and prepare. There's nothing else we can do here and we're losing time."

The harsh reality of their situation crashed back over her, washing away her petty annoyance with Strange as they moved to reload onto the ship. She kept her eyes on her feet, not wanting to look too closely at the debris around them, afraid of what she might see.


	32. Chapter 32

The ship touched down on the landing strip of T'Challa's compound, Steve exiting first to assuage the guards eyeing the strange craft warily. He glanced behind him, taking in their new recruits. It was a motley crew to be sure, but some how that felt more natural... He supposed it was because that was how it had always been for him, starting with the Commandos... just him and some outcasts from the fringe standing on the front lines.

The atmosphere surrounding the compound was thick, humming soundlessly through his body. He knew that feeling... it was an old, unwelcome companion.

 _War is coming._

They would need to start the major phase of the relocation to Utah as soon as possible. He could practically hear the tick of time's passage, a reminder of the urgency of their situation. His eyes fell to Darcy walking from the ship. She ambulated without a stagger but there was a heaviness in her step and a glaze to her eyes that belied her fatigue.

Tomorrow would be the earliest they could start.

Her hand absently brushed at her temple where the bullet had grazed her and he looked away, feeling nearly overwhelmed with guilt. He had intended to stay near her during the fight, keep anyone from getting close enough to hurt her… but in an instant, she had been gone, disappearing and reappearing throughout the room, making it nearly impossible to clock her.

And a stray bullet fired by a no-name alien on some desolate back water planet had nearly killed her.

He suddenly recalled kicking that final merc with great satisfaction.

And Thanos had still taken the Stone. Despite their new recruits, it still stung like failure.

His fist clenched against his side in frustration as he started toward the debriefing room, hoping exertion could excise this prickling rage from under his skin.

 _Later_ , he thought.

* * *

Darcy had tried… truly tried… to stay awake during the post mission debrief but it was near impossible now that her adrenaline was fading and her efforts were catching up to her. Luckily, Thor had sat next to her and had braced his shoulder against hers to keep her upright as her head lulled in her losing battle.

"Darcy," he whispered, jostling her gently as the meeting was adjourned.

"Hrmm?"

"It's over. We can leave now."

She lurched out of her chair, losing her balance before straightening, and blinking into the harsh lighting.

"Come," said her friend smiling at her bleary expression, "I'll walk you to your quarters. I am sure the Captain would not begrudge you rest."

She nodded sleepily, rubbing her face to get herself moving while Thor chuckled, no doubt finding her human weakness amusing.

"Steve had not been exaggerating about your power. It is quite impressive."

"It didn't feel that way at first," she laughed, thinking of her tripping around her apartment those months ago, afraid that even a trip to the bathroom might injure herself. "I was lucky i didn't break my nose or drop myself off a skyscraper in those first couple of days."

"Yes, I do recall some mishaps when I first obtained Mjolnir. It seems growing pains are often inevitable... though mine usually involved Loki," he replied with a sigh. "He speaks highly of you, you know."

Darcy scrunched up her brow. "Loki? Why?"

"Not Loki. Steve."

She felt her face flush and she redirected her gaze to the floor. "Oh."

Her suddenly jumbled thoughts were interrupted by Thor's booming laugh. "You need not speak of it if it makes you uncomfortable. It is just good to see such things in these difficult times. I am glad for you. Both of you."

"It doesn't make me uncomfortable," she started with a sigh. "I'm just not sure there's anything there to talk about. He's been distant lately. And I get it... end of the world, space travel, aliens, galactic super beings... It's a lot for all of us to deal with... but it was nice to have 'something'." She looked up again, this time confused. "How did you know?"

"I've known you both for some time now," he replied with a smile and a shrug. "And it was a lucky guess. Just one of my many skills."

Darcy snorted as Thor flipped Mjolnir in his hand, a joking demonstration of these said 'other skills'. He nodded to her door that they had come to without her notice. "Get some rest. We have lots of work waiting tomorrow, friend."

Her brain got caught between a goodbye, a yawn, and a wave, resulting in a grunt and a shoulder spasm. She let herself into the room, managing to at least make it to through the shower before falling face first into her bed and embracing blissful sleep.

* * *

It had been hours and he still felt it, the nagging itching under his skin that just would not abate no matter how much he hit the punching bag, no matter how far or how fast he ran. He had given up and returned to his room, looking for another outlet but his sketchbook laid open and bare, mocking him. He pulled a fresh t-shirt over his just showered skin, and stared at his door.

He wanted to see her, the thought of doing so easing a bit of the knot in his chest.

 _All I ever wanted with Peggy was more time and now I'm willfully running it out with Darcy. Why?_

But he knew the answer was the oldest, simplest, and by far the worst... fear. He loathed it and the weakness that accompanied it.

Fear of heartache, rejection, embarrassment... He could take any form of physical punishment thrown at him with a raised chin but faced with emotional vulnerability, he slunk and backed away.

"Coward," he muttered to himself in the quiet of his room. The admonishment was enough to jar him to action, his hand yanking on the door knob so hard, the hinges creaked in warning. His heart thudding in his chest, uncertain of exactly what he was doing or why, he found himself at her door, knuckles rapping sharply against it. It flew open a few seconds later and he was momentarily incapable of speech as she looked at him, alarm in those crystalline blue eyes.

"Steve? Is everything ok?"

Her hair was damp, her wild dark curls in stark contrast against her porcelain skin... skin that was far more visible than usual in her pajama shorts and a tank top.

 _I should go_ , he thought as he felt something curl in his lower abdomen. _This was a bad idea_.

"Can I come in?" he heard himself ask instead, his eyes falling to her lips. She didn't miss it.

"Yeah..." she breathed out, stepping to the side to let him into the dim room. Closing the door, she pressed her back against it, watching and waiting. Not for the first time, he noticed how small she is, how vulnerable, as he catalogs the bruises from the day's events. He is suddenly struck with how grateful he is that she was able to turn back time, that in this time line, he got to meet her.

"How's you head?" he asked with a gesture, aiming for a calm that would hide his restlessness.

She smiled and folded her arms over her chest and it took a great deal of willpower for Steve to keep his eyes on her face.

"It's fine," she replied simply.

"Good," he said with a gusty sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. "That's good." He let his eyes roam about the room, looking for something, anything to talk about, and cursing his inability to small talk with women.

"Steve?" he hears her ask quietly.

"Yea?" He can't help but wince at the question he knows is coming.

"Are you alright? You seem a little..." she asked, her hand making a vague looping movement in the air.

He barked out a laugh.

 _You are one hopeless idiot._

"I'm fine. I just..." he shrugged playing for time before settling on the truth. "I just wanted to see you."

He was surprised to see her face soften, a pretty blush tinging her cheeks.

"I'm sorry. I've never been any good at this," he continued, latching on to the topic of conversation and he stepped closer to her, just outside her personal space. "Never could talk to a pretty girl without putting my foot in my mouth."

The blush on her cheeks darkened and something deep inside him roared with satisfaction.

"Oh, I don't know about that," she said. "You seem to be doing just fine."

He chuckled and moved forward again, watching carefully for any sign she wanted him to back away, very much aware his looming height and build could be threatening. Her breathing was picking up, her chest rising and falling more rapidly, and he could see the flutter of her heartbeat at her neck. But her eyes followed his face, her expression open and trusting, and he was soon close enough to feel the heat from her body and smell the soap on her skin.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked, his voice coming out rougher than intended. He felt more than heard her 'yes', the word ghosting across his cheek just before his lips met hers, one of his hands sliding up her neck and the other resting at her waist, fingers brushing over bare skin under the hem of her shirt. It was just seconds before her mouth slanted and opened, her tongue making a tentative brush against his lips the had his hand gripping at her waist to pull her closer. She tasted like mint and felt like warm sunshine in his arms where their bodies met, every part of her flooding his heightened senses. That feeling started to curl in his abdomen again and he deepened the kiss as her fingers flexed against the fabric of his shirt at his chest, nails pressing into his flesh.

The worries of the real world melted from his mind at her touch and all he could think is that he wanted her closer, their height difference making it a near impossibility if they remained as they were. His body reacted to his want before his brain has a chance to think it through, his hands lifting her at the hips and pressing her back into the door. She made a squeak of alarm with the motion, her arms and legs wrapping around him in surprise.

He froze pulling back to look at her face, now at eye level.

"I, uh,... is this ok-"

His question is cut off by her full lips, her fingers threading into his hair, and her nails grazing his neck.

Fucking hell... he loves how she feels against him, chest to chest, legs wrapped around his waist... He spanned his hand over the skin of her lower back, cataloging how soft and smooth it was and wondering how much softer the skin of her inner thighs might be. In truth it was a question he'd thought about since their ordeal over the Atlantic but now he was overcome with desire to find out. God help any person or universe dominating alien that interrupted them now...

 _Darcy... brave, kind, beautiful, vulnerable Darcy_... the thoughts flew through his head, unwilling to be shoved into the small corner he kept them in any longer.

 _His Darcy. His girl._

He was falling in love with her.

Pulling back, he stared almost bewildered, breathing heavily at this new revelation. Her parted lips were swollen as she panted, swiping at a displaced strand of hair that kept tickling her nose.

"Bedroom?" she asked breathlessly.

The question felt like a hot stone in his lower abdomen, anxiety, lust, and affection twisting there in a heady mixture. He should do the smart thing and process this, make sure he doesn't do something stupid to screw it up...

"Okay," he heard himself say instead.


	33. Chapter 33

**_\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\_**

 ** _Note, this chapter is rated mature_**

 ** _\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\_**

* * *

In her eagerness, Darcy created a portal right at her back, and they tumbled through, Steve's hand shooting out and bracing them as they fell onto the bed. He looked at her, eyebrow raised as he shifted his weight to keep from crushing her.

"Sorry," she said with a sheepish laugh and an apologetic grimace. "I should have given you a heads up, but it's almost second nature to me now."

"I'll get used to it."

He leaned forward, capturing her lips again and she heard two solid thuds as he kicked his shoes off and positioned himself more solidly over her before lowering his head to her neck. She fisted her hands in his shirt, an involuntary response to way he made her feel… skin buzzing at every contact point, head spinning as she breathed in deeply, heart hammering and skittering against her chest…

God, how she wanted this… God, how she wanted him.

Faintly, in the most sardonic corner of her mind, she figured there was at least one upside to her inevitable demise. Steve Rogers had absolutely ruined her for anyone else.

She reached down between their bodies, her fingers grazing him through his jeans, and he inhaled sharply at her ear, his body going still before he backed away to sit on the edge of the bed.

Darcy's stomach dropped, the rapid dissipation of her adrenaline leaving her cold.

 _Oh no, oh God... I misread..._

"I'm sorry, I- I thought-" she stammered, pushing herself up to a seated position, her hand hovering uselessly, stuck in the air in an aborted act of comfort.

"No, you didn't do anything wrong. I-," he sighed running his palm over his face and through his hair, "I think I should tell you something."

Darcy straightened, surprised at his sudden change in demeanor and drew her knees up to her chest. The uneasiness radiating off him seemed so out of place, so uncharacteristic, she found herself wondering what on earth it could be that made him this uncomfortable.

Steve drew in a deep breath, his eyes fixing on a blank spot on her wall. "I've never done this before."

Darcy's grip on her legs relaxed and her head tilted in confusion.

 _No, he can't mean..._

"Done...?" she pressed tentatively for clarification.

He whetted his lips before pursing them together tightly as if reluctant to speak. After a moment longer, he turned his head to look her right in the eyes. "Sex."

Her heart twisted at how vulnerable and yet still proud he looked and her nerves melted away, replaced instead by warm affection.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Before the serum, no one was really interested. And then there was Peggy but we were in the middle of the war," he continued as way of explanation. "When I woke up after the Antarctic, I immediately joined the Avengers and became famous. Meeting people became a lot more difficult after that." He paused with a small shrug. "There was one agent I got close to but after the accords, she chose to stay behind in the States. And it's just been this thing that's never happened for me." He finished with a self-deprecating smile.

Darcy nodded slowly, understanding how this came to be, even if she still couldn't quite understand _how_ this came to be. "Okay..." she breathed out, given him a gentle smile. "Thank you for telling me."

He gave one jerky nod, his mouth pressed in a tight smile before his eyes fell back to his hands that had clasped in front of him.

He was waiting she realized, for something, anything from her to either move them forward or end it and her anxiety flared. Never in a million years had she imagined she would have to take the lead in the bedroom with a literal Adonis. This man had seen the Depression, the second world war, fought aliens and robots and Norse Gods, and saved the world… and yet here, in this part of life, a part so essential and wonderful to being human, to being alive, he was bereft.

Violence and struggle and loss, she realized, were all he's ever known.

 _To hell with that._

"What about third base stuff?" she asked, moving to sit next to him on the bed.

He glanced at her, his eyes flicking over her face before his head shook in a silent 'no.'

"Alright," she said firmly with a nod, and crossed her arms over her waist to grip the hem of her shirt. She could do this, she could be brave and put herself out there for him. "Not a problem."

She pulled upward, and tossed the shirt away, glad she happened to put on one of her nicer bras earlier. Steve was silent, his face unreadable as she stood, and straddled his hips, his only movement being the slight widening of his eyes. Her hands cupped either side of his jaw as their gazes met.

"Is this okay?" she asked softly, her attention drawn to the slow, heavy bob of his Adam's apple.

His whispered 'yes' ghosted across her lips and she kissed him deeply, her thumbs grazing over the rough edges of his beard. She tried to pour everything she was feeling in that moment into the kiss... her desire, her care, her affection... everything.

 _You are safe with me_.

She felt his fingers brush over the tops of her thighs before his arms wrapped around her in a fierce embrace that made her feel incredibly wanted and loved.

Love... she'd never really been in love. She found the thought of giving her heart away terrifying after all the pain her life had brought her. But oh, how she _wanted_ to feel it, be consumed by it, and say she had truly been in love before her life ended.

The thought made her kiss him harder, her hands slipping into his hair, and her tongue brushing his as she deepened the kiss. He moaned softly into her mouth, his arms releasing their hold and she let her weight settle more firmly on his lap.

It became more difficult to think coherently, most of her focus drawn to the points where he touched her, small trails of electricity left in his wake and she shifted against him, the core of her softening, aching as she felt him underneath her even through their layers of clothes. His sharp inhalation and the tightening of his grip at her waist told her he could feel her too. She broke off their kiss and pressed her lips to the shell of his ear, letting him hear her heavy breathing before nuzzling the angle of his jaw.

"Lie back," she murmured against his skin before she pulled his ear lobe into her mouth.

He complied but brought her with him, kissing her until she flattened her hand over his heart to push herself up and shimmied herself further down over his hips. Her hands reached for his jeans and he propped himself up on one elbow, eyes raking over her.

"Darcy..." he said with a hint of uncertainty and she could not tell if it was a warning or plea as she lowered his zipper.

"I want to," she said breathlessly, her hands stilling but not moving away and she tossed her hair over one shoulder. "Do you want me to?"

His chest rose, and shuddered on the exhalation.

"Yes."

Feeling her lips curve into a smile, she slid the hem of his boxers down and he sprung free, thick and hard against his involuntarily flexing abdominal muscles. Wrapping her fingers around the soft skin, she glanced up at him, her face blushing to find him still intently watching her, still propped up on his elbows.

She focused back to her task, finding his stare too intense to hold for long. Her hand moved over the length of him, her thumb passing over the tip and he twitched heavily. Her thighs flexed involuntarily, and she considered skipping all the in between and just sinking onto him, riding him until he was incoherent and shaking...

She wanted him to be marked down to his soul by her, she wanted him to never forget her... Darcy Lewis was here and the universe was going to goddamn know it.

She leaned over, her lips wrapping around him, and he let out a choked gasp that caused his entire body to shift. She let her tongue swirl over him, lips exerting gentle pressure as she moved up and down in time with her hand until she had taken him as far in as she could go.

His breathing became heavier, and he occasionally emitted small gasps and moans that he tried in vain to conceal. It spurned her on, consumed by the desire to see him unravel and know it was because of her and how she made him feel.

She broke her rhythm to tilt her head back, letting the ridge of him slide across the roof of her mouth before she took him as deeply as she could. A mumbled curse filtered through the haze as his fingers brushed her cheek.

"Darcy..."

Ignoring him and his attempt to be a gentleman, she repeated the motion, slowly, deliberately... once, then twice more...

"Fuck," she heard him mutter and his fingers curled into her hair as his hips pushed himself back up into her mouth.

She did it again and felt his thigh flex under the hand that steadied her and she squeezed it back in a soothing response. The blanket under her pulled tight as he fisted them in the hand that wasn't in her hair.

"Darcy!" he repeated, this time sounding desperate and she released him from her mouth, maneuvering so he spilled into her hand., no other sound in the room but his ragged breathing. Using her discarded tank top to clean up, she tossed it to the side and prepared to move off him, but Steve was already sitting up. She got only a millisecond warning before his mouth descended on hers in a punishing kiss, his hands tangling in her hair.

They pulled apart after a few seconds, breathless, and he rested his forehead against hers.

"I want to see you," he said in a hoarse whisper.

A spike of self-conscious fear shot through her. To be completely naked, completely exposed in front of him and his perfect body... but then she remembered the photo of him from so long ago and she nodded, feeling his thumbs run soothingly over her cheekbones. His hand slid across her back to unhook her bra and she fought the urge to cover herself as he laid her down, pushing the straps from her shoulders.

She can't recall ever feeling this way before, so trusting and yet so vulnerable. It ratcheted up even further when he moved down, his large hands pulling her shorts down her thighs.

He sat back once she was divested of her clothes, his eyes slowly passing over her, his gaze lingering in several places along the way. When he finally spoke, it was just a breath and she almost missed it.

"God, you're gorgeous." And then he leaned over her, his lips trailing burning kisses down her neck and chest, one palm rolling over a nipple before taking her entirely into his hand. She arched into him as his mouth reached her other breast, the sensation shooting straight to her lower abdomen and she squeezed her thighs in a futile attempt to assuage the desperate want.

Feeling so empty and aching, she wanted to cry in relief when his hand brushed over her hip to sweep over her knee and back up her inner thigh.

 _Yes, please touch me…I might die if you don't._

He kissed his way back up her neck as one long, thick finger sunk into her, and she moaned, feeling him breathe out shakily against her skin. He took a moment before he lifted up and nudged her nose with his to kiss her.

This one felt different from the impassioned kissed of before, slower and more sensual as his fingers moved within her. She wished she could see what they looked like… him completely dressed but disheveled, her naked and writhing as he made her senseless with his hand and his kisses.

His motions were slow and gentle as he paid attention to what made her breath hitch or her legs shake until she was practically squirming underneath him. Almost reluctantly he broke their prolonged kiss, grazing his lips across her cheek before he moved down her body, positioning himself between her thighs with one of her legs over each shoulder.

The ease of which he moved startled her. "Are you sure you've never done this before?" she asked, her voice breaking.

Seeing that crooked, slightly cocky half grin from between her legs made her feel boneless and weak. God help her if this is what he was like with just a little bit of confidence.

"I've done research," he replied, his breath warm against her sex as he leaned forward.

"What kind of- ooh!"

Her voice was cut off as he kissed her and she fisted the covers at her side, lost to the sensation of his lips and fingers. Her hips moved in restless little circles as heat coiled tight in her abdomen, both amazing and frustrating, and she is squeezing tightly around his finger when he pressed another into her and spread them wide.

"Oh god," she half mumbled as her orgasm took her over, her body arching and legs locking around his ears as she came hard, leaving her panting and wide eyed.

Steve had sat up on his knees, watching her as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. It was almost feral, the way he did it, his eye glittering and she shivered. He was moving in a flash then, having misinterpreted it to mean she was cold and pulled the covers down and over her.

He removed his shirt and pants before sliding in next to her and pulling her tight against his chest. They don't speak and she doesn't want to, afraid it'll break whatever spell seemed to have wrapped around them. Instead, she threaded her fingers into the hand around her waist and let sleep over take her, content to just revel in this moment tonight.


	34. Chapter 34

There was not much Steve missed about his pre-serum physiology... the asthma attacks that had made him feel like an iron belt was cinching around his chest, the tremors and the shakes that wracked his frame every winter... he bid it all farewell without a backward glance.

He did, however, miss that warm, languid half sleep that sometimes happened in the morning, when a bed was the most comfortable place in the world. The mornings that could slip into a day under the covers, burrowed away from the draft of his Brooklyn apartment. He barely needed sleep anymore, usually waking after only a couple hours fully alert without a ghost of fatigue clinging to him.

This was the closest he'd felt to that tranquil state in decades, his arms wrapped around Darcy, her back pressed against his chest as he curled around her. Pushing away thoughts of his responsibilities of the day for just a few more moments, he breathed deeply into her hair, relishing in the warmth and softness of her skin. The night before came back to him in perfect clarity, for once being used to replay an enjoyable memory instead of his litany of regrets.

The softness in her eyes as he told her the truth, the way she'd kissed him after climbing on his lap, as she straddled him on the bed... And when she'd wrapped those lips around him, her long dark hair grazing his thighs and stomach, it was both one of the sweetest and most erotic things he'd ever experienced... He felt wanted, cared for in a way he'd never had before, the rush of feelings accompanying the experience overwhelming and complex.

Then she had let him see her, all of her, and he committed her all to memory exactly as she was in the moment... dark, shining curls fanned out on the sheets, her body all feminine curves underneath his gaze, her thighs around his head as she made wonderful, incoherent noises...

His fingers flexed involuntarily against her side. He wanted to feel her under his hands again but wouldn't while she was asleep and didn't want to wake her this early, not when she still needed sleep.

With a heavy sigh, he extracted himself from the sheets and put his clothes back on. He hesitated at the bedside before he reached over, his fingers grazing her cheek.

"Darcy?"

She stirred, turning into his hand and her eyes fluttered open, unfocused as she sat up and blinked at him in confusion. The sheet at her chest slipped down and she caught it, clutching it to her.

"Hey," she said, her voice still thick with sleep.

"I've got to go," he whispered apologetically. "I'm meeting Shuri and T'challa. Still a few more hours until we'll need you, so keep sleeping. I just didn't want to walk out, without telling you." He paused, his hand reaching out to squeeze hers at his side. "Can I see you tonight?"

She smiled and his heart clenched as she squeezed his hand back.

"Yea, that sounds nice."

Feeling the moment was right for it, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek before standing up.

"Here," she said from the bed and extended her hand, a portal shimmering in front of him. "To your room," she explained. "It's a selfish move, really. Tony will be merciless to both of us if he catches you taking a walk of shame."

Steve grimaced, just thinking of the possibilities and nodded his agreement before stepping through the portal. He cleaned and dressed quickly, unsurprised to see Bucky walking down the hall when he exited his room. He never slept much either.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah, didn't think you were coming til later though."

Bucky shrugged. "Might find a place to make myself useful."

"You don't have to do this, you know. You don't have to come to Utah and fight."

Bucky laughed gently and rubbed his jaw. "Yeah I do. No one is sitting this one out. End of the line, besides right?"

The words hung in the air as they both contemplated for the first time since the war that one or both of them might not make it.

"So..." said Buck, drawing the word out, "you seemed troubled after you all got back last night but I couldn't find you when I came to check on you."

Steve felt his ears start to heat. "Oh, I was, uh, I just went to see Darcy. The mission stretched her abilities so I was making sure she was okay. "

Bucky gave him a hard look, his eyes narrowing. "I see. Does that have anything to do with the hickey on your neck?"

Steve stopped abruptly, pulling on his shirt collar to see what Bucky was talking about. "What?! Where?"

When he didn't get an answer, he looked up to find Bucky smiling smugly. "Relax. There's nothing there."

Steve shoved him halfheartedly into the wall and ran his hand over the part of his hair, a remnant of a nervous habit he had in his pre-serum days. All it did was make Bucky's smile widen and Steve walked away.

"So how did it go?" he called after him as he jogged to catch up.

"I'm not going to give you details."

"So that good then?"

"Bucky," he growled in warning and his old friend sighed, his hands going up in mock surrender.

"Okay, Okay." He cast an assessing glance over him, as if trying to see him more clearly. "It's just nice to give you a hard time about something so normal. You've never really had normal."

"No, not really," he had to agree.

They walked in silence until they reached the hanger, Buck placing his hand on Steve's shoulder to stop him.

"I happy for you, and your normal."

Steve nodded. "Thanks."

"Oh and you might want to get the lipstick off your cheek before Sam or the other's see you."

"Huh?"he asked, automatically rubbing at his cheek. He didn't think she'd had any on... it was night time and she'd looked like she'd showered...

Bucky laughed, shaking his head as he pushed open the door. "It's just too easy."

* * *

"This might be a little late to bring this up, but I'm pretty sure moving most of the Wakandan military to Utah violates the sovereignty of the United States... which could be problematic. You know, if they find out," said Darcy, turning her attention from the portal she was maintaining to Jane when her friend did not respond.

Jane had that far off look in her eyes as she watched transport after transport pass through.

"Jane! I listen to you ramble on about physics for ages. You can humor my political science for a few minutes."

"Hmmm? Oh, sorry," she said apologetically. "I was just thinking about you and what you can do. I think you might be a fifth dimensional being."

"What?" asked Darcy nearly turning completely to her and the portal wavered, causing a shout of alarm from the others. "Shit! Sorry, sorry! I got it." She breathed out a huff of relief as she saved it from crashing closed and looked at Jane again, this time much more carefully. "A fifth dimensional being?"

"Yes. You can already move independent of space. If you can move independent of time, you'd be a true fifth dimensional being."

"Like time travel? I technically did that... though I suppose we all did. That was really more of the stone than it was me." She paused, scrunching up her nose. "What would that even be like? To move between time and space all at once? I can't wrap my head around it."

Jane shrugged. "It's all theoretical. I've been coalescing the data from you portals and if we get past this Thanos thing, I've got some experiments I'd like to try. Might be able to find out if its real or not. "

"Oh good, more experiments," grumbled Darcy as Wanda lifted another aircraft through the waiting portal.

"All right, that's the last of the it for today," came Steve's voice over her comm.

"You sure? I feel fine."

"Yeah, we need to get the whole team together anyway. Start assigning stations, get our tactics straight. Every one is heading your way so just keep it open so we can come back."

"No problem."

As if on cue, the door banged open loudly, Thor, Loki, Banner and Strange filing in and the Guardians descended from their ship as Steve, Nat, and Clint exited her portal. Tony and Shuri arrived from the opposite stairwell, Scott and Sam, and Bucky not far behind. Wanda, Jane, T'Challa, and Vision closed rank as they all eyed one another, warily.

Steve's chest rose as he took in a breath to speak when-

"Hey, aren't you that Asgardian?" asked Drax, pointing to Loki from across the circle.

A smug smirk appeared on the trickster's face as he glanced at his brother. "I see my exploits have become legendary-"

"Yes, your obsession with your father is known to us all. We have often wondered what a pathetic creature like that would look like," he replied and turned to Quill. "Your guess was pretty close."

What color remained in Loki's feature's drained before flushing back as he stepped forward with a snarl. "You insolent-"

Gamora and Rocket withdrew their weapons and Quill stepped in front of Drax, his hand raised in an appeasing gesture.

"Woah, woah, woah. My friend is a little blunt when he speaks but... well, come on, we've all got some daddy issues. No reason to get bent out of shape over it."

Drax nodded, peering from around Quill's shoulder. "Yes, Quill's father fornicated all over the galaxy before killing all of his siblings and his mother just to try to make him into a battery." He pointed to Nebula and Gamora. "Their father took off body parts whenever they disappointed him and replaced them with cybernetics."

Tony shrugged with a glance at Bucky. "He killed my dad."

Wanda nodded at Tony. "And he tangentially killed mine."

"My dad abandoned me before I was even born," chimed in Darcy with a huge grin. Loki's face was slowly morphing from rage to one of complete confusion. This was by far one of the most amazing things she'd ever seen.

"Hey," said Thor, jutting his thumb at Tony before nodding at Vision, "he sort of is your father."

"If I am, then so are you."

"See? There you go," said Quill, his hands going to rest in his belt loops. "You know who's great at this stuff? Mantis. You should go hold hands with her for a while, and I'll tell you what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna get you a zune with a bunch of Cat Stevens on it. You're gonna feel loads better by next week, buddy, I swear."

Steve cleared his throat loudly. "Can we get back to the topic at hand?"

"Did he just say 'zune'?"

"Tony!" snapped Steve. The Guardians holstered their weapons and Loki looked too struck to say anything.

"Good," muttered Steve, looking for the world like annoyed father on a road trip, which Darcy figured was apropos. "The last invasion lead with foot soldiers and small aircraft. This was followed by larger ships and artillery. Thanos commanded from behind until moving in with the stones and then started picking us off one by one. Since the battle won't be in a populated area, the collateral damage doesn't matter. None of us will have to hold back to avoid hurting civilians so we need to take out his forces quickly and efficiently. That's our heavy hitters. Wanda, Bruce, Strange, and Darcy will be on the ground, Vision, Thor, and Tony in the air. Priority one will be to protect them so they can do their jobs. The air team will have support from the Wakandan air force, Rocket, Starlord, and Falcon. The Wakandan ground forces will hold the line with myself, the King, and his Dora Milajae with them. Bucky, Nat, and Clint will directly protect Wanda, Strange, and Darcy on the ground. Loki, Groot, Drax, Nebula, and Gamora will hold the defense line in front of that. Scott will be with you but we may pull him away if the need arises. Thanos is not to get to Strange or Vision under any circumstances, no matter what the costs. As always in war, aim to take out the commanders to create confusion and once Thanos makes an appearance, there is one goal, and one goal only: remove the gauntlet. We can't stop him, we can't win unless it's gone."

"What about Jane?" asked Darcy.

"We'll need her with us to lure him but we'll keep her protected facility. Same with Mantis," he answered. "Tomorrow the rest of the personnel will move to Utah and we can decide then where exactly to make our stand."

The cheerfulness of the ribbing of Loki faded away, the members of the room nodding their quiet agreement. Darcy looked around and felt ill as she was struck with the impossibility of them all living through this. Her mind started to spiral away from her, memories of New York and their deaths taking on an even more heartbreaking quality. She knew them all now, was friends with them all. She didn't hear Steve's dismissal, the rush of blood in her ears starting to make her breath stilt.

 _Oh no, not here. Not now,_ she thought but the panic attack was rising like a wave and her hands became sweaty. She took a few jerky steps away as her vision dimmed and she leaned on a crate. She didn't want to do this here, not in front of them. Besides being monumentally embarrassing, she didn't think it would bolster confidence in the team to see her melt down at just the thought of their deaths.

"Darcy?" she heard Steve ask, his voice sounding far away, but then suddenly he was there in front of her, eyes alarmed as his palms cupped her cheeks but all she could see was Thanos crushing his throat and his body falling limp to the ground. Her legs started to give out when she felt someone, not Steve, loop an arm around her to pull her behind the crate, away from the view of others.

"Tony, what are you-"

"Shhh!" snapped Stark, letting her slide to sit on the ground. "Darcy, Darcy, look at me."

Her vision was still swimming and she felt like she couldn't catch her breath but she did what he asked, as best she could. She felt a weight press flat and firmly against her sternum as Tony grabbed her chin in his fingers. "Come on, kid, Carly, remember? She sure likes fuck, right?"

"Tony! What the hell-"

But Steve quieted when Darcy started to laugh, a shaky breathless thing, but a laugh none the less. "Carly is kinky so she fornicates most often. Carly is kinky so she fornicates most often." She repeated it several times until Stark was no longer a watercolor blur and he removed his hand from where he'd applied pressure to her chest.

"Better?" he asked, sitting back on his heels.

"Do you shave with an exacto knife? Or do you somehow stencil it to get those weird shapes in your goatee?"

"Yea, you're better."

He stood, offering his hand to pull her up.

"Thanks," she said a little sheepishly.

"No problem. I think Cap's got it from here," he said releasing her hand and started to leave.

"Tony," said Steve and the man paused, looking back over his shoulder. "Thank you."

Tony hesitated, his brow twitching before he shrugged. "No big deal. We Avengers have to look out for one another, don't we?"

He turned completely away, a clear indication the conversation was over, and left without any further response.


	35. Chapter 35

The Utah SHIELD facility was underground with only a few non-descript buildings serving as entrances or exits from the super structure along with a large hanger that exited into a canyon. Plataeaus that glowed orange in the dying sunlight dotted the landscape around them, casting long shadows over the desert floor. Darcy found it comforting in how much it reminded her of Arizona, almost fitting that her adventure started in a place very much like this. That it should probably end in the same manner had a poetic symmetry that appealed to her in a morbid sort of way.

The days blurred into one another, long hours spent on fortifications all in preparation for war. Though Darcy had her own room, it was really just a formality with most of her nights spent in Steve's bed, usually too exhausted to do anything but curl up against his side on the rare occasion he was there when she went to sleep. He was constantly in motion, working with the others to try to find a new avenue of attack, a new form of protection, anything that might give them an edge.

It was strangely domestic, the routine they had fallen into, where he'd climb into their bed late at night and pull her to him, breathing her in before falling asleep. Darcy lived for those few quiet hours, especially when she wasn't sleeping so deeply she could turn over and kiss him. Sometimes it was just a 'hello, I've missed you' , other nights it became a heated tussle of limbs with clothes quickly discarded. But, interestingly enough to Darcy, they still had not had sex. She wondered about it but decided ultimately to leave it to him. She could wait until he was comfortable.

If they just didn't die first, that was.

She sighed at the thought as she pulled closed the door to their quarters, her eyes far away as her mind played back one of those special nights with Steve. She had just rounded the main hall when she heard yelling, specifically of the Stark variety.

"Oh shit," she muttered and took off running, afraid Steve and Tony had found something to row about after so much improvement.

"No, no. You can't stay. You're on the next bus back to Queens!" Tony shouted, his voice having a ragged edge to it.

 _Queens? But Bucky and Steve are from Brooklyn..._

Her feet skid on the tiled floor as she finally found them, her face screwing up in confusion at the teenager standing in the middle of the war room in fitted armor, Steve, T'Challa, and Tony the only others present.

"But I can help!"

"How did you find us anyway?" asked Tony, ignoring the kid's impassioned statement.

"The Iron Spider suit. It still had Shield's transmission frequencies on it. I had been listening and it was weird when they fired up after being offline for a couple years. I thought it would be worth checking out, seeing as to what happened last time."

"I blocked those frequencies."

"Well, I turned them back on. It wasn't that hard to hack."

The kid's torso twisted as he followed Tony's agitated pacing and Darcy clapped her hand over her mouth.

 _Frickin' Spiderman is a teen from Queens._

"Did you really just knock the high tech, multi-million dollar armor I _gifted_ you? The one you're wearing right now, as we speak?"

"Look, Mr. Stark, I'm sorry, but you can't keep me out of this."

"Yes, I can. And I will."

"If what you've told me is true, you need all the help you can get."

"So we're just supposed to, what? Let a twelve year old go to war with a galactic super being? In what universe do you think that's a possibility?"

Peter's feet shuffled as he moved to stand a little taller.

"In this one, where I'm sixteen and I know what I signed up for and I'll die anyway if you fail."

"No."

"You can't get rid of me."

"Yes, I can," said Stark, his head whipping around to Darcy. "Lewis, send this guy back to Queens for me."

"What? No, nope. I'm not getting involved in this," she said, raising her hands.

"Has everyone lost their minds? Rogers and the King are fine with it too," snapped Tony, his lip curled in a mild snarl.

"We're not 'fine' with it, but we think he has a right to fight for his home," said Steve.

"He is a child!"

"Hey-" exclaimed Peter, moving forward in protest.

"NO!" yelled Tony, spinning to jab his finger in Peter's face. "No, I'm not going to watch you die! Don't ask that of me!" The room quieted, Stark's voice still echoing off the walls. He ran his hand through his hair, his head shaking back and forth like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Do you honestly think we could keep fighting after that?"

"You don't remember the first time we met, do you?" asked Peter, his voice cracking.

Tony blinked, his brow furrowing. "I went to your apartment-"

"No, before that. I was at the Stark Industries Expo back in 2011 with my Uncle Ben. He had bought me an iron man mask on our way in because I wouldn't shut up about him- uh, you- but in the explosions and the chaos afterward, we got separated and then there were the drones. I had no idea what to do so I just did what I had seen iron man do..." He held out his arm, palm forward and out. "And it worked. The robots flew back. A second later I realized it had been you but in that moment... I knew the only thing I wanted to be... the only thing I'd ever want to be, was Iron Man. I wanted to save the world." He swallowed thickly and brought his eyes up from where they had fallen during the relation of his story. "I still do. And I would rather die fighting with you than all than alone when this guy makes his way to Queens. Don't ask that of me."

Tony's hand shook at his side in an agitated tic before he lifted it and rubbed his brow.

Darcy cleared her throat. "Tony... we don't get to decide. His parents do."

"I don't have any parents."

"You have May."

"No, you can't bring her into this," said Peter but Tony was already pulling out his phone.

Even from where she stood, Darcy could hear the yelling through the speaker once it connected, Tony grimacing against the onslaught. "Here. I'm going to let you talk to him," he said, shoving the phone into Peter's hands and he gave Tony a pained look before taking it from him.

"Yea, yea, I'm fine- yes Aunt May- I'm sorry..." He turned back to them a few minutes later, his hand over the mic, and a slight desperation on his face. "I can't tell her this on the phone, she won't get it, how big this is."

Darcy sighed, and held out her hand for the phone which Peter eagerly gave up.

"Hi, ma'am, my name is Darcy Lewis. Where are you right now?"

* * *

"Yo," said Darcy as Peter entered the hanger slightly slack jawed as he stared up at the Guardian's ship. "I see you convinced your Aunt to let you stay. Well done."

"Huh?" he said, his eyes reluctantly tearing away from the hull. "Oh yeah, she agreed on the condition that she could stay too. Said family doesn't leave family."

"Still, good work. She was pretty pissed when I picked her up. I don't envy your last couple of hours," replied Darcy lifting her beer to take a sip. She wasn't much of a beer drinker but it seemed perfect now, the light of dusk filtering through the giant open doors, music echoing out from where Quill had left the boarding ramp down from his ship.

Peter rubbed his neck and gave a weary nod before looking her back over. "I don't think I met you before. You weren't at the airport."

"Yeah, I'm a little late to the Avenger's party. Kinda a long story but it started with me as an intern for Dr. Foster and ends with me here, powered up and with Captain America as my boyfriend. Quite the journey, now that I think about it."

"Wait, the Dr. Foster? The one who wrote the paper on Einstein Rosen bridges?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Her work is amazing. I've read everything she's published! Her theory on alternate dimensions being layered over ours just blew my mind when I first read it! To think of it, all worlds, all possibilities running over each other simultaneously..."

"I'm glad someone understood it. Maybe you could give me the cliff notes version of that. It would freak her out if I could quote it."

"But... aren't you her intern?"

" _Was_ her intern. Now I fly through the air with the greatest of ease, the daring young girl without a trapeze to be seen."

Peter blinked at her in that way that often happened when she said something confusing before his face lit up. "You're dating Steve Rogers?"

"Yes, why?"

"You've got to see these then..."

* * *

Everyone seemed to have congregated to the hanger, each drawn to the music emanating from the guardian's ship, a few beers being passed around the slowly growing crowd. Tony stood at the edge of the grouping in the dark of one alcove, his heavy packages resting behind his head on a crate as he observed from his mostly hidden position.

Wanda was tucked into Vision's side where he reclined on a chair. Jane and Thor were having a quiet conversation off to the side while T'Challa, Bruce, and Dr. Strange spoke under the wing of the ship. Natasha and Clint chatted together from their perch high up on some stacked crates with Scott and Sam just under their swinging feet. Parker was next to Darcy, the brunette's face the picture of unabashed glee as she watched whatever Peter was showing her on his phone.

 _Fucking kid_...

He'd give anything to not have Peter in the middle of this mess but it was too late now, the kid having somehow talked his Aunt May into allowing him to stay. The scene was both comforting and painful, causing emotions Stark was never all that great at processing. It was nice seeing them all together, these people he considered friends, perhaps even family if he was in the habit of being honest with himself. But since he's not, Tony felt a twinge in his chest that he wrote off as a pull of the scar tissue from his surgery, ignoring the warmth that followed behind it. Footfalls behind him had him turning around, and he leaned casually against the crates as Steve and Bucky came into view.

The two men slowed their steps as they approached, stopping when they were a few feet away.

"Tony," said Steve with a nod while Bucky kept his eyes averted and hands jammed in his pockets.

"Cap," Tony replied before opening the bag at his back. "There were some scrap materials lying around the lab that the Princess was gracious enough to let me use. Thought it might come in handy." He paused, his arm elbow deep into the bag. "Sorry. That was an unintentional, terrible pun."

He pulled out the arm, the vibranium gleaming in the fluorescent lights of the hanger, and held it out to Bucky while purposefully avoiding Steve's eyes. He reached back into the bag, wanting to get this all over quickly, before the twinge in his chest made it hard to breathe. He hoped they could see this for what it was, the words he'd probably never be able to say to either of them.

 _I forgive you. I am sorry._

He heard Steve's sharp inhalation as he removed the shield. He'd left it exactly as it was when he'd picked it up off the frozen concrete floor, scratches and bullet pocked paint and all. He had considered cleaning it up, making it fresh and new like the arm but it felt wrong in a way, the state of the shield representing so much more than just its face value. Damaged but whole. Old yet still here.

"Darcy helped me with this one. I didn't bring it with me." Tony grimaced at his own lame attempt at downplaying the moment and passed the shield to Steve who took it disbelieving into his hands. He used Roger's shocked silence as an opportunity to escape. He made it only a couple of steps before he heard Steve's voice, strained and quiet.

"Are you sure?"

He steadied himself with a deep breath before putting on his usual air of nonchalance. "Yeah. I am."

They regarded each other silently until Tony could take it no longer. "Let's show Thanos why he should have never even considered coming for us. Then we'll talk about keeping you home for good. All of you."

"Tony-"

"I didn't want anything hanging over us before we head into this," he said quickly by way of partial explanation, his eyes pleading with Steve to see the rest so he didn't have to say it. He couldn't do that, not right now and not quite yet.

Steve and Bucky exchanged a long look before nodding. "Yea, us neither. Thank you, Tony. This means..." his voice trailed off.

"I know," he replied and walked away, letting the shadows envelope his body.

* * *

"Hey," said Darcy looking up as Steve and Bucky approached and nodded at the shield in Steve's hand. "I see Stark found you."

"Yeah," he replied looking still a little stunned. "You didn't want to give me a heads up about it?" he asked with no true animosity.

Darcy smiled and shrugged. "Wasn't my secret to tell." She peered around Steve to Bucky who was rolling up the short sleeve that hid the connective circuitry of his amputated arm. "I didn't know about that though."

She watched impressed as he slotted the machinery into place, a low whirling reaching her ears even among the music. The gleaming fingers flexed once, twice testing the dexterity and her eyes were drawn to the shoulder, a black "A" painted in place of the previous red star.

The Avengers symbol.

She glanced at Steve's face, his expression too pained to be joy and too happy to be sadness, and reached out to squeeze his hand. He looked down at her, giving her that crooked smile she loved. It disappeared when he noticed Parker and the phone in her hand for the first time.

"What are you watching?"

Darcy gave him her most mischievous smile. "Oh nothing. Peter here was enlightening me on several subjects including the food groups and exercise. So why didn't you ever tell me you did school PSAs?"

His eyes closed and he let out a long suffering sigh. "Because I was trying to avoid this very moment."

"Wait til you see the one on 'Your changing body'," chimed in Peter reaching for the phone but Steve was faster, snatching it from her hands as Darcy fell backwards in laughter.

"I will drop another semi truck on your head, kid."

"You'll do what?" came a feminine voice and Darcy laughed even harder at Steve's chagrined, blushing face as Peter's Aunt May glared up at him. "And what do you mean by 'again'?" she added, looking especially unimpressed.

"Sorry, ma'am," he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.

May rolled her eyes before walking away, grumbling something about 'Brooklyn boys', with Peter slinking behind with an unapologetic shrug and a smirk. Steve looked at Darcy for help but she just held her hands up. "Hey, you're on your own on this one."

Bucky backed away. "I'm going before he tells her that I punched him."

"Godspeed," saluted Darcy as he slid behind the stack of crates before covertly climbing up behind Natasha and Clint. She reached behind her, pulled out a beer in a peace offering which Steve took before leaning against the crate, her knees touching his waist.

"So everything with you and Tony okay now?"

Steve took a swig of his beer and draped his arm over her legs to rest his palm over her shin, his thumb rubbing slow circles on her calf. "I'm sure we'll have our moments in the future but things seem to be going in the right direction for the first time in a long time. I'll take it."

They looked up as the music shifted, a slow but optimistic tune and Quill stood, his hand held out to Gamora who rolled her eyes before taking it, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet and into his arms. They started to dance, Peter spinning her out and her twirling back to him. Sam tugged at Natasha's boot and jerked his head in invitation to join the two. She hopped down, landing lightly on her feet before pulling him after her.

"Come on," said Darcy, grabbing Steve's hand as she slid off her perch.

"I, uh..."

"It's fine. We can do the middle school shuffle. It's my specialty," she said with a firm tug to join the others before looping her arms around his neck. "Just side to side. We can even spin in a slow circle if you're feeling fancy."

He laughed a soft huff, his hand going to her hips as he looked down on her, the sunlight giving her dark brown hair an amber glow. She grinned back at him until something in the corner of her eye got her attention.

"Oh, look at this," mumbled Darcy watching as Parker made his way to Jane, his ears burning red as he asked her to dance. Jane blinked rapidly before she nodded, smiling to Thor as she followed the teen while the God of Thunder's eyebrows nearly hit the roof.

"I knew he had a crush on her. Kept asking me about her publications and research. I could only answer about a quarter of his questions."

"Good for him. I didn't have near that confidence when I was his age." He chuckled. "This is actually my first dance, with a dame and all, I mean and not by myself."

Her face broke into a wide smile. "Oh really? Well..." she said, a blush coloring her cheeks. "Feel like checking off anymore firsts this evening?"

He leaned forward to let his forehead touch hers. "Yeah. I do."


	36. Chapter 36

**NSFW**

* * *

The portal had barely closed behind them when his lips were at the base of her neck his arm wrapping around her waist to pull her against him. She leaned into his support, her fingers threading into the hand at her waist, that wonderful electrical feeling passing over her skin.

 _I don't think I'll ever get used to this. Not with him._

She turned and he kissed her with an eagerness that made her smile, his hand gently pushing her back the few feet to the bed as he lifted the hem of her shirt. The material came off over her head as the back of her knees collided with the mattress, those deft fingers of his already working on the button of her jeans and she lifted a hand to his shoulder to steady herself while she quickly toed off her shoes.

There was a predatory gleam in his eye that had her swallowing thickly, a reminder that though he was good and kind, Steve Rogers was a dangerous man.

It shouldn't turn her on this much, but oh god, it did.

Shimmying out of her jeans, she scampered back on the bed, watching raptly as he pulled his shirt off.

 _Probably will never get used to that either._

His shadow fell over her as he join her on the bed, his body covering hers with one of his knees pressing between her legs. It was almost habit at this point, how her hand touched the sides of his neck, sweeping down over his shoulders and chest, following the path she'd once watched a drop of water take standing out in the jungle near a lake of Wakanda.

It felt like a lifetime ago.

His head lowered, his mouth falling to her collar bone as one hand trailed down her waist and thigh, then back again, leaving her skin buzzing. She could feel the hard length of him pressed into her hip through his pants and she gently rolled herself against him, causing the hand at her thigh to spasm as he inhaled sharply against her. Her own pulse raised in excitement, her fingers starting to work on the button fly of his jeans.

She knew they were rushing but it was like there was a pressure at the base of her spine, a want, a need in a way she hadn't felt before... one he seemed to be mirroring as he moved to shuck off his remaining clothes before reaching to hastily remove hers. Faintly her brain registered the sound of lace ripping but Darcy was already sliding her hand up the back of his neck pulling him to her, a soft sigh escaping her lips when he finally settled between her thighs. Heat pulled in her belly and she unconsciously moved her lower half against him in small, restless circles. His hips surged forward in response, stars erupting behind her eyelids as he pressed intimately against her. She heard his shaky breath as she reached between them, taking him in her hand to position him.

Pushing slowly into her, his chest against hers, she could feel his stuttering intake of breath against her body and she shifted to allow him to settle more fully. Her head tilted back and she closed her eyes to just enjoy the sensation, the fullness and warmth once he was completely sheathed within her. She opened her eyes when after a few more second he still hadn't moved.

Steve was looking all over her face as if trying to memorize her in this moment, and for the first time she could see the wear of time in that usually clear gaze.

"Darcy," he started, his voice a rough whisper. "I want you to know, this isn't just-"

She leaned up, cutting his words off with a gentle kiss. She couldn't hear him say it, that this meant something, that this wasn't just him checking off something on his list or even just an act of defiance aimed at the universe saying they were still here, still alive.

She knew it wasn't. But any talk of the future would bring the uncertainty of theirs into blinding clarity and she didn't want _his_ name brought into this moment.

This belonged to them.

"I know," she said against his lips before pressing small kisses down his jaw and neck before sucking hard over his pulse. He moved his head sharply down to catch her in a kiss, the ferocity of it taking her by surprise.

If she would not let him tell her, it seems he would show her instead. His arms wrapped around her, his embrace spanning her entire back. She should have felt claustrophobic but instead just felt remarkably protected.

And then he started to move.

It was a little halting at first until he started to move in earnest, the bed frame starting to sway. It felt wonderful, that molten warm feeling starting to spread to her limbs she clenched around him in response, illicit a choked sound that had him burying his head in the curve of her neck.

"You feel amazing," he murmured into her skin and she couldn't help the wicked smile that curved her lips as she hooked one leg high over his hip and she could feel his breathy chuckle.

The change in angle had her pulling in deep breaths, each exhale allowing the coil in her belly to pull tighter and tighter and she buried her face in his chest, her involuntary moan vibrating across his skin. The hand at her thigh moved underneath her, spanning over her lower back and lifting her to get a deeper angle, his thrusts becoming more forceful. Her head fell back against the bed, legs wrapping around his waist. The hand that had been supporting his weight threaded into her hair, the slight pull giving her just a hint of pain that was enough to send her over the edge, her orgasm passing through her in waves.

"Fuck," he murmured in her ear, his hand tightening against her scalp, hips pressing into her with two more deep thrusts as his body tensed over her. She carded her fingers through his hair and trailed them down his back, his shoulders twitching in a small shiver. In retaliation he rubbed the scruff of his beard against a ticklish spot that had her yelping and squirming but his hold was iron.

"Careful," she said in mock seriousness, "I'm pretty sure you don't want me to portal with us in this position."

"Fair enough," he said pulling back to smile at her, this time looking as youthful as she'd ever seen him. Without thinking, she reached up, touching her fingertips to his cheek.

 _If I can time travel,_ she thought, _I want to come back here, to this moment._

He kissed her, this time more gentle, less insistent before sliding off of her and pulling her against his chest, his body curling around her. They lay like that throughout the night, his nose buried in her hair, arms banded around her and a palm pressed over her heart.

 _Yours,_ she thought just as sleep overcame her. _It's yours._

* * *

Steve did not, could not sleep, instead taking the time to replay every moment he could recall between them.

He had barely noticed her at first, that day in the conference room, his focus initially on Dr. Strange and his abrupt appearance. She had been slouched in her chair, arms folded over her voluminous sweater, hair mashed flat under her knit cap, and scowling. He hadn't believed either of them, that she, this perfectly ordinary young woman had lifted Mjolnir... he who should know better than anyone a person's exterior tells you nothing of the worth within.

It had taken a whole, oh what was it, fourteen hours for his suspicion of her to wane. Seeing her awkwardly eat a muffin with watering eyes and embarrassed chipmunk cheeks, he came to the firm conclusion that she was no nefarious manipulator. And then she had moved to leave, the ground vanishing beneath them and she had made him laugh for the first time in ages. He almost did not recognize the sound as it forced itself through his vocal cords and she ran from the room, leaving him bewildered in the middle of the table.

Bewildered... it was pretty much his perpetual state from that point forward when with her. She made him want for a future he thought he'd long let go of, things he was certain would join his list of those not meant to be.

 _Maybe..._ he dared to hope.

It felt like the most dangerous of all the tasks ahead of him.

He nuzzled the area behind her ear just as their peace was dash by ear splitting sirens... the ones reserved for one purpose and one purpose only.

Thanos.


	37. Chapter 37

_Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit._

"Darcy, the portals," she heard Steve say as they both scrambled up, jamming legs into their suits and yanking up zippers.

"Yep, on it," she muttered, snapping out her hand and she concentrated, creating portals throughout the compound that would lead each team to its designated rendezvous points, and thus allowing everyone to quickly assume their stations. A flash of red and blue and silver nearly distracted her until she remembered. His shield. He was securing it to his back. Suddenly, it all felt more real.

She shoved her foot in her remaining boot, hopping on one leg for balance when he steadied her at the elbow.

"Thanks," she said, quickly throwing her hair up in a pony tail as she looked at him. His eyes were a flinty blue and his expression grim, every inch of him Captain America instead of the Steve who had taken her to bed last night.

"You ready?" he asked.

It was time for this to end.

She popped in her communicator and created a portal, nodding. "Let's go."

They stepped into the bright morning Utah sun and moved to the front of the Wakandan ground forces, just behind King T'Challa. She could hear the rumble of their fighter jets leaving the hanger, the ground vibrating gently beneath her feet.

"Captain," greeted the King.

"Are our defenses in place?"

"Yes, Shuri and Foster were able to adapt them to Shield's existing technology."

"How do we know he's coming?"

"The Vision has sensed his approach. It is unlikely to be long now."

As if summoned, a vertical tear appeared in the Eastern sky, snapping as it expanded. Without any preamble, a swarm of creatures started to pour through it along with several small air craft.

Jane. She wished she had been able to speak to Jane just once more before this.

The King vaulted up onto a large rock, his helmet dissolving as he looked over his army.

"We are far from home but this is where we belong today, where our people are needed. Africa was the birthplace of humanity and her people will defend it! Her people will save it! There is no greater cause, no greater purpose than what we are here for today. For Wakanda! For the future of all mankind!"

A great cheer rolled through the crowd, weapons lifting in the air before they all snapped their heels together, their arms crossing over their chests as the King returned the gesture.

She jumped when she felt a hand clamp on her shoulder and she whirled around, letting out a relieved breath to see it was Clint with Sam just behind him.

"Bucky and Nat are already with Wanda," he said to Steve. "Banner, Starlord, and Rocket are with Strange."

"Good, lets go. We need to get in position," said Steve and they moved to the far back, nodding at Loki, Groot, Drax, Nebula, and Gamora who were scattered within the final line. She could see Wanda in the far distance to her right, and Strange on her left, each flanked with their protectors. She looked up just in time to see the Order crash against a shimmering blue barrier, the shield created from Princess Shuri's vibranium technology and their first line of defense.

From her point on the high ground a few hundred yards away, she could almost make out the creatures, mindless and feral as they crawled over one another. She couldn't believe the barrier was holding... maybe this would go much better than she had thought.

And then they parted, a sleek black figure with an elaborate head dress marching down the center. Darcy's comm crackled in her ear, Thor's familiar brogue coming through.

"Hela," he said, his voice dripping with disdain.

The woman reached out, her palm pressing against the blue and it pulsed violently before turning red and melting away. The black army surged forward.

 _Okay, maybe not._

"Darcy you're up," snapped Steve, his hand reaching over his back to pull off his battered shield. King T'Challa's helmet reformed and his Dora Milajae readied their stances to meet combat.

Darcy threw her arms wide, creating a portal at the Order's approach and the exit over their heads. The air crafts vanished as they passed through, only to reappear over their own army and flying full speed into the ground,the explosions of their impacts leaving large craters and carving swaths out of her enemies.

She sucked in a deep breath, stunned at the destruction caused by her own hands. They were still pouring out of the tear, now changing their paths to swing wide to avoid her portal. She tried to contain them, creating new ones, but they eventually broke through, those flying colliding in a dog fight. Chaos was everywhere Darcy looked.

A beam of red followed by unearthly screams.

 _Wanda._

Sizzling yellow that raised the hair on her arms.

 _Strange._

A streak of green with footsteps that shook the earth.

 _Banner._

Blue flashes and the smell of burning ozone.

 _Thor._

She heard a whoop of excitement from Peter Parker as he flew past, pinning aliens to the ground in his webs.

Everyone was now engaged as the bulk of the battle descended on them, Steve striking out and Clint knocking an arrow to let it fly.

Closing her existing ones, she focused new portals on the ground force, randomly dropping large groupings into the air but her view was limited and she looked around, climbing up an overturned speeder that had crashed nearby.

 _Better._

Her ears rang with the clang of metal on metal and she coughed against the smoke that billowed by with the change of the wind. With great difficulty, she tried to ignore the desire to check on Steve as he fought. They seemed to be driving them back, or at the very least to hold the line when the tear crackled again, this time splitting higher and wider into the sky, a large spacecraft churning through. Immediately, she dropped to her knees as the mind splitting sound reached her ears.

God, she had forgotten the pain of this particular weaponry, but it lasted only a second and she found herself propelled forward, a shock wave nearly throwing her from her perch.

 _Stark's dampener_ , she thought as she pushed back to her feet. The Hulk had somehow made his way near her in the battle and was roaring angrily at the ship, his limbs trembling with violence.

 _I guess he didn't like that either._

"Jolly Green!" she shouted, a thought suddenly formulating. "You know how to do a cannon ball?"

The giant snapped his gaze to her, his lips a half grin-half snarl. She opened a portal under him and above, letting him fall until he was no more than a blur before launching him in the sky to slam into the craft where he proceeded to tear anything withing his reach off. A second ship was emerging and she extended her hand again, letting the ship pass through a portal before she slammed it shut, the vessel groaning as it was severed in two, the separate pieces falling to the ground before it had even fully exited.

More of the Black Order spilled out from around the ship that now rested at the entrance of the tear, reminding Darcy of ants escaping a crushed hill.

 _So many... too many._

She glanced at Steve who just slammed his fist into one of the creatures and had a sudden flash of inspiration. Steve and her, the lake, the ocean...

She closed her eyes, picturing it, blue and endless and... powerful.

With a grunt she tore a hole in the sky, a sound like a thousand freight trains filling the air and the entire field turned to look as millions and millions of gallons of water swept like a biblical tidal wave over their enemies at the tear, the wrecked ship disappearing in the depths.

"Darcy?" asked Clint frantically as the wave started to barrel towards them.

"I know!" she growled, snapping shut the portal to create a new one stretched along the desert floor, the ocean pouring into it like a waterfall and taking those in its grip with it.

She sighed as she closed the portal, her eyes meeting Steve's as the small residual wave slid through his feet. He smiled back, something very close to what she assumed was hope hiding behind it.

But then there was a blinding screech of something fiery and hot across the sky, its target unseen by Darcy who had to cover her eyes, and she fell from her precarious position as the ground shook beneath her. Steve caught her, setting her on her feet as her comm crackled something awful in her ears.

"No, no, no, no, no-" she heard a voice cut in an out in her ear piece. It took her a moment to realize it was Tony, the voice of Friday chirping warnings in the background. His breathing became more erratic and Darcy found him zooming in from the air to land at the smoking destruction left by the attack.

"No!" he screamed, the desperation she heard making her ill. They had lost someone, she just knew it.

 _Please, don't let it be-_

"Peter! Talk to me, kid!"

 _Oh god, Tony..._

Darcy portaled there, barely catching Steve's shout for her to stop as she stepped through. Tony was on the ground, Parker's hand held in his own, the teen's exposed fingers already pale and grey. She choked back her tears, moving just in time to defend them from a few approaching Order soldiers by brutally cutting them in half, their parts sliding to the sand with sickening thuds.

The Iron Man was shaking, his body rocking back and forth as he muttered to himself.

"Tony," she whispered, her fingers reaching for his shoulder. "We have to-"

Just as she was about to make contact, a booming laugh rattled across the land, a new tear appearing as the Mad Titan stepped through, the sunlight reflecting off his golden armor.

"Fun really isn't something one considers when balancing the universe," she could hear him say as he lifted the gauntlet, letting the four embedded gems catch the light. "But this does put a smile on my face."

She felt paralyzed, the fear she had been thus far successfully pushing away now clenching around her heart. He was every bit as terrifying as she remembered. The metal clink of Tony's face-mask closing had her turning but he was already rocketing at Thanos.

"Tony, no!" she heard Steve shout in her ear and she reached out to portal him back but Thanos waved his hand in the air and Tony hit the ground, bouncing like a fly being batted away. Rustling at her feet drew her attention back to the creatures she had just killed, their pieces moving toward one another like magnets as they knit themselves together... and rose.

"What the fuck..." she whispered.

"It's the Soul gem," she heard Strange say in between grunts. "He's raising his dead."

Just then she was tackled from behind, black reptilian arms wrapping around her torso and lifting her as she struggled against it. She kicked but it held on, crushing her chest, and another charged from the front.

"Okay, fucker," she grunted and created a portal under them both and they fell through the clouds, barely missing a collision with some airborne craft. Its grip slackened slightly, giving her room to drive her elbow into its gut and the force of the wind started to split them apart. It reached out frantically, latching onto her ankle. One quick portal later and the dismembered hand lost its grip before falling away. She created a portal beneath herself and she was abruptly rocketing up in the air, twisting to reorient herself before landing behind a boulder.

"Your reprieve was only temporary," said Thanos in the tone of bored annoyance. "Why do you fight the inevitable? Death is my destiny and I will have her."

The gauntlet lifted before he sliced it down through the air, the sky filling with burning meteors. Darcy tried to divert as many as she could, every miss that killed their own twisting like a shard in her heart.

"And you that have been touched by them..." said the Titan, looking thoughtfully at the gems before his eye-line narrowed in on her, seeming to see her even through her protection, "I have seen your pitiful gifts. What you have stolen, will be returned."

"Darcy, run!" she heard Strange shout in her ear and she portaled away just as her cover exploded around her, some rocky shrapnel following her through. She stumbled to the ground, writhing in pain though her suit prevented any penetration. She saw Thanos narrowing in on her again and she tried to lift herself up, her foot sliding on the loose dirt beneath her.

Thanos' grinned, his glove aimed and glowing. But then there was Thor and Mjolnir, hammer raised high as lightning coursed down his arms and through his body. Thanos and Thor released their strikes at the same time, both flying backward.

And like a horrible replay of that moment in New York, several yards behind her, all she could see was the unmoving red cape as she crawled to it on her hands and knees.

"Thor!" she screamed as she rolled him over, his blood already staining the sand. He coughed weakly and then stilled.

The God of Thunder was dead, this time his hammer shattered at his side.

 _No..._ She lifted the braided handle, the wrap unraveling in her grip. _What was the point of any of this... is this just hell? Are we stuck in hell?_

"And you," said Thanos, "they call to their brother."

She looked up from where she knelt by Thor to see Vision being pulled toward the monster, Wanda's magic trying to restrain him every inch of the way. Hers was joined by Strange's who both struggled to keep him in their grasp. It was quick, his body falling limply to the ground as the stone was ripped from his brow.

Red wispy vines wrapped around Thanos, winding up his neck and down his arms. He shook one after the other off as they reappeared just as quickly. Some of the tendrils worked at the gauntlet, trying to pry it off. Thanos grunted as they squeezed tighter around his chest, burrowing under his armor as Wanda strained against him, her face grimaced and tendons standing out on her neck.

Darcy glanced back down at Thor before standing and creating a portal within his extremity slammed it shut, the gauntlet covered arm falling to the ground.

"Wanda, now!" shouted Steve and she yanked on the appendage. It flew through the air but then dropped, rolling before coming to a stop.

"What-" Darcy started to say as her gaze found Wanda but it was choked off in horror. Wanda was gasping, her hands wrapped around the black obsidian spear that had passed through her chest to embed into the ground. Hela was grinning behind her, several black daggers manifesting within her hands. Darcy just had enough time to duck to avoid the one aimed for her head and pushed back as the Goddess of Death approached. One by one with her portals she deflected the attacks, but they were so fast and furious the last lashed open her cheek, her hand involuntarily flying to cover it. Hela's lips curled, another dagger extending from her palm.

"My brother was fond of you. I'm going to enjoy this," she crowed as she let the dagger fly. Something wrapped tight around Darcy's middle, yanking her abruptly to the side, the dagger missing her by millimeters. It was Dr. Strange's cape.

"I told you he liked you."

Hela whirled around but Strange was there, the eye of Agammoto open and glowing green. It engulfed the Goddess and Darcy watched horrified and mesmerized as the woman convulsed, her age reversing to youth, adolescence, and then infancy. The cape covered the rest from her sight and Darcy was grateful as the woman was sent back to non-existence. A second later it unfurled and floated to seat itself back onto Strange's shoulders. He gave her nod and she stepped up to his side, turning to face Thanos, who had already reattached his arm.

The Hulk was mid charge, taking a great leap in the air with his fists raised, poised to slam down on the arm. Stark flew in from behind him, a barrage of missiles erupting from his suit.

But the Mad Titan raised his palm and Banner was gone, just a green mist carried away by the wind.

"Enough."

His fist closed and nearly half of the Wakandan army still standing collapsed, their bodies twitching before going still. There was a horrible crunching noise and Darcy screamed as the compressed cube of red armor that was once Tony Stark rolled to a stop near her. She shuffled back from it, nearly losing her balance as the bile began rising in her throat and Strange dodge a strike aimed in his direction before zoning in on Thanos once more.

An unearthly howl had her turning just as an alien soldier reached for her, its hand wrapping around her throat as it lifted her from the ground, shiny teeth glistening with spittle. It moved to tear at her face when it stopped suddenly, freezing before it darkened and turned to ash.

Darcy fell, landing hard on her ass to see Jane standing there, her hand flushing back to pink as she reached for Darcy's.

"Come on!" shouted Jane as she helped Darcy up and she portaled them to behind a burned out wreck before turning sharply to her friend.

"Jane! You aren't supposed to be here!"

"I had to, Darcy," she replied, shaking her head. "I could feel it... I could feel them when they died. I felt Thor." She swiped angrily at her watering eyes. "I had to try to help, especially knowing you were still alive."

Darcy lunged forward, hugging her tightly.

"Okay, okay. Together then?"

Jane smiled, sad and watery. "It's how we started, right?"

"We've lost Peter and Rocket," said Gamora, her voice rough with tears even through the channel. "Nebula too."

Darcy's shoulder brushed against Jane's where they huddled behind the fallen aircraft and she just stared ahead, the ringing in her ears making the situation feel even more surreal. There were so few of them left... She hurt almost everywhere, and her vision was a little spotty as she lifted her hands in front of her face as they phased in and out. She whetted her lips, a plan formulating in her mind. She had to try.

"Jane?"

"Yeah?" asked her friend as she tried to peer around their cover, her hair flying around her face.

"You're my best friend and getting on your research team was the best thing that could have happened to me."

She could feel Jane freeze next to her, her head whipping around. "Darcy, why are you telling me this?"

Darcy reached out, trying to grip her friend's hand but it took two tries.

"I love you, ok?"

Jane had once hypothesized her cells would win the sub-atomic tug-o-war if she herself phased while within a solid object, the quantum forces multiplying to repel one another, leading to an explosion. The astrophysicist blinked at her, her jaw falling open in a slowly dawning horror. Darcy smiled through the tears in her eyes, giving her one last squeeze before she pushed to her feet, bolting away from their cover.

"Darcy! You said together!" she heard Jane yell but the wind stole everything after that.

 _Well,_ she thought, running in a bee line toward Thanos, _here's hoping my atoms are as stupid lucky as the rest of me._

* * *

Steve used the alien's own weapon to pierce its chest, jerking it out and spinning it to strike another in the head. He looked around for Darcy but like last time, she vanished and reappeared before he could get close. His only reassurance was the occasional muttered curse that filtered through the comm, her voice he'd recognize anywhere.

"Scott! Status?"

"Nearly there!" came the panted reply. He barely heard it, a blast from the staff of another creature knocking him to his back. The creature made a move to bring it down on his face but he caught it just in time, deflecting it to the side and the alien fell forward, Steve using the momentum to throw him off. He rolled with it, his fist connecting repeatedly with its face until its azure blood stained his glove.

 _Bucky, Sam, Tony, Bruce, Thor, Natasha, Wanda, Vision, Clint, Peter, T'Challa..._

They were losing. But it wasn't over. Not quite yet.

"Darcy! You said together!"

Steve's blood ran cold as he heard Jane scream Darcy's name, his body jerking to find her from his kneeling position on the ground. The panicked desperation in her voice pierced him and he knew... he just knew she was about to do something incredibly brave and foolish and wholeheartedly Darcy.

"It's done! I've fractured the latch!" he heard Scott say as Steve finally found her sprinting across the field toward Thanos, her figure becoming translucent as she ran until she appeared to be no more than a rippling wave. Instinct long honed in battle drove him to his feet, his torso twisting to launch his shield with every ounce of his strength.

"Now!" He shouted, "Everything you've got!"

He heard Gamora's growl just as she opened fire, blaster bold striking Thanos in his torso and Drax charged, his daggers held tight in his fists. They did no harm but were sufficient to distract Thanos, allowing Cap's shield to strike true, the edge of it knocking the latch of the gauntlet open and allowing it to come loose.

The alien smirked and reached to secure it back again when his eyes narrowed, a look of uncertainty crossing his features just before his torso exploded, parts of him flying away in sickening clumps that had Steve covering his face.

Whatever Darcy had done, maybe it had worked, maybe this was it... But then despair washed over him, the parts of the gigantic alien sliding toward one another, starting to reform his body.

 _The gauntlet,_ he thought, looking around frantically when he saw it, shining as it flew through the air to join the half assembled creature.

And then it just as suddenly stopped, collapsing to the ground just shy of the rest as the body started to desiccate, turning brown, then grey, then black, crumbling into a pile of ash.

Steve nearly choked on his disbelief and turned, jaw dropping to see Jane standing with her arm raised high and fury etched on her face...

And the Mad Titan's beating heart in her hands.

Strange levitated the glove away from the remains and the organ in Jane's hand shriveled, sifting through her fingers. The rest of his army likewise disintegrated.

Jane was staring at the pile of ash at her feet, her hand still black and smoking when Steve stepped up to her.

'Where is she?" he asked her, somehow able to form the words around the rock in his throat.

Jane's face crumpled as she shook her head. "I don't know. She phased all of her atoms and put herself in Thanos and then unphased to cause the explosion. I thought she would be right there but..."

"Is she... is she alive?"

Jane shrugged helplessly.

"The Soul Stone," said Strange, interrupting their exchange, "it can revive the dead."

"Do you know how to use it?"

The Doctor made a rare expression of uncertainty. "No, but perhaps it is not so different from the Time Stone."

He levitated the soul gem into the empty eye about his neck, his lips moving in silent mutterings and his brow pinched in concentration. Slowly, like the rolling of thunder in the distance, Steve could feel something touching and pulling on him and he imagined his very soul was vibrating from it. The air started to lift around them, glittering golden pieces whirling about and shooting off throughout the destruction in great looping patterns.

"Strange, is it work-"

Steve's voice cut off as he heard Jane's strangled gasp and he turned. Everywhere, the field was glowing, beacons of light in the dusk coalescing and rising on the wind until they dove, merging with the fallen.

And one by one, they rose.

* * *

Jane's hand pressed over her heart as Thor woke and stumbled towards them, his steps becoming more sure with every movement.

 _Oh my god, its working._

Gamora jumped into Peter's arms. Clint and Natasha stared at each other bewildered. A newly revived Tony extended his hand to help Bucky up.

"Did we win?" asked a dazed Peter Parker as he staggered to his feet.

"Can I?" asked Wanda to Strange with a nod toward the glove, though Jane doubted very much it was a question.

Her hand raised, red wisps circling the golden stone and they lifted it from the glove. Her other hand stretched out and Vision's body was pulled toward her, a current passing through him as the stone connected with his brow. His eyes opened and Wanda rushed into his arms murmuring things in a language Jane did not understand.

All around her, cries and shouts of Wakandans and Avengers alike filled the air, tears streaming and people embracing.

Victory.

Her eyes skimmed the crowd over and over again, the lightness in her chest becoming dimmer and dimmer with each pass.

 _Where is she?_

She watched Steve as he moved toward a pile of rubble, swinging himself up and scaling the side until he was far above them all.

"Darcy!" he shouted, voice echoing against the plateaus and the crowd slowly quieted, realization dawning on them at the pained desperation on his face. "Darcy!"

 _No,_ thought Jane, _No, she can't be..._

Darcy Lewis was gone.


	38. Chapter 38

"Darcy!"

His own breath sounded loud in his ears... in and out, in and out, a harsh rasp that hurt like a knife to his lungs with every inhalation.

 _No... not again. Please..._

His eyes skimmed the crowd over and over, his vision becoming blurry as dread settled like a stone in his gut.

"Darcy!"

 _Gone._

Her face swam up in his mind's eye... dark curls against fair skin, red lips curving in a smile that was somehow both shy and enticing, the faint smattering of freckles on the bridge of her nose that could only be seen up close and framed blue eyes he could drown in...

 _No. This isn't happening._

He dropped to the ground from his perch on the debris and marched up to Strange to seize him by the neck of his cape.

"Where is she?" he snapped, not even noticing when the tail of the cloak wrapped around his wrist in warning. "Did you project her? Is she out of the physical realm?"

Strange frowned. "I did not. The physical body remains in that case, anyway."

"Then WHERE? Where is she?"

He was surprised to see Strange's face soften to something close to pity. "I don't know."

Steve released him with a frustrated shove, the cloak relaxing back at Strange's side. His head shook slowly, his grief feeling like a tide that just would not stop coming in.

"Does anyone know where she is?"

There was silence except for the wind that whistled over the desert, rustling their torn and battered uniforms.

"None of you-" he started, turning in a circle. He registered Natasha's watchful gaze, and Bucky's tense stance as everyone shifted uncomfortably. Steve made a noise somewhere between a scoff and a choke as he started to pace. "The greatest minds in the world, in possession of the infinity stones and none of you can tell me how to get her back."

He knew he was being unreasonable, he knew he was being unfair, but he was tired of always being the diplomatic one, tired of always burying his feelings for the greater good, and above all, tired of having the important things in his life slip away from him like a ship in the night.

He no longer had the energy to care, this feeling searing a hole right right through him. He spun on his heel, his fist slamming into the hull of the crashed ship hard enough to cave it in. The snap of the bones in his hand was hidden under the clang of the metal. He didn't care. It would be healed in a few hours anyway.

The restless, burning pain was unbearable, his strike only giving him minuscule relief and he straightened, taking in another serrated breath. This was a SHIELD facility and he had no compunction to tear it apart with his bare hands if it would ease this ache.

The crowd parted, people scattering hastily to let him through.

"Let him go," he heard Bucky mutter, but to whom, he didn't know or care.

* * *

"Have you spoken with him yet?" asked Natasha siding up to Bucky as he walked down the hall hours later.

He shook his head. "I was giving him a minute. Anyone check on Foster?"

"Thor's with her but he said she's not really speaking... just gathering up all of her notes and tinkering with her equipment. He's worried but..."

"This is something that will only be fixed with time," finished Bucky, slowing his steps as he neared Steve's door. They both glanced at it, perturbed

that not a sound was emanating from the other side, and they exchanged a look before Natasha moved on.

Bucky rapped the back of his knuckles on Steve's door, waiting a full two count before pushing it open. The small living space was decimated, the coffee table broken and a chair half embedded in the sheet rock. The exterior wall of cinder block had several holes that looked distinctly fist like, with beams of sunlight filtering through to illuminate the darkened room. His boots crunched over glass as he stepped into the bedroom.

Steve was sitting on the floor, his arms propped up on his knees, something soft and blue clenched in his hand.

 _One of Darcy's sweaters_ , he realized.

"I know we all can lose people we care about in war, some a lot more than others," said Steve, his voice rough, "but this... this is starting to feel awfully personal."

Bucky moved further into the room, stepping over an overturned lamp.

"A fight for the universe and we only have one casualty... _One_..." He sniffed and looked up at Buck, "and it's _her_."

Bucky's heart twisted for his friend and he joined him on the floor. He didn't have any words, Steve's heartbreak and grief being the culmination of over seventy years of pain and loss and spirit crushing disappointment.

"I wish I could have gotten to know her better," he said finally, feeling like he had to say something. "The few times I spoke with her, she seemed like a real firecracker... makes sense if she made you so dizzy. You never were much for quiet and meek."

Steve's lip twitched in small smile and he nodded his agreement.

They sat in silence for what felt like hours, Steve's frame occasionally racked by a new wave of grief until he let his head fall back, one palm coming up to rub viciously at his face.

"So, what's been decided?" he asked finally.

Bucky took in a deep breath.

"Strange and Thor are going to take the soul stone to Asgard and then Xandar to fix what happened there. Stark has requested, as much as he 'requests' anything, that Colonel Rhodes be healed before the Stones are dispersed again. Vision and Strange will keep theirs. The rest haven't been decided on. Right now, Strange is using the the space stone to get the Wakandans back home along with the alien wreckage. Princess Shuri will analyze it and see what she can adapt technology wise." He shrugged. "After that, Strange will send us anywhere we want to go."

Steve nodded his approval absently before letting his head roll to look at Bucky. "We?"

"To the end of the line..." said Bucky before he shrugged and straightened out one of his legs, "-or whatever city borough or remote hillside you drag me to."

Steve smiled but it fell almost as soon as it appeared. "You can't, Buck. You need to go back to Wakanda, and finish your therapy with Dr. Kemora. You'll be safe there."

"It'll be fine. I'm bet-"

"No, I put your mental health second before and I won't again." He sighed. "Besides, I think I need to spend some time alone for a while."

"You sure that's a good idea?"

Steve scratched his chin. "No. But I think its what I want right now."

Bucky worked his jaw in consternation and after a long pause asked, "Where will you go?"

"Don't know..." he replied with a shrug. "I've lived in cities most of my life..."

"So, not one of those?"

Steve didn't answer.

* * *

Jane ran down the hall, cursing as some of her notes on yellow legal paper fluttered out of her grasp and she turned, scooping them up in a rough grab.

"Shuri!" she wheezed as she rounded the corner and the young Princess looked up from her the hologram on her data pad.

"Dr. Foster! I was just about to leave with my brother." She closed the program she was working on, giving the astrophysicist her full attention. "I am so, so sorry for your loss."

Jane nodded, swallowing around the lump in her throat. "Thank you, but I've been thinking. These Stones... everyone says they are all powerful. If that is the case, then if Darcy were actually dead, she should have come back, right?"

Shuri nodded for her to go on and folded her arms over her chest.

"And if she were somewhere else in the Universe, she should be able to portal herself back to us."

"Maybe she is unconscious? Or otherwise hasn't had the opportunity to portal here?"

"That's possible," acquiesced Jane, "But we already have the Guardians and Thor looking out for any signs of her in the galaxy. I think we need to look beyond." Shuri's brows furrowed and Jane barreled forward. "If she's not dead, and she's not in this galaxy, then I think she is somewhere else. In another dimension. The fifth dimension, to be exact." She brought up her fistful of wadded up notes. "I think with the data I've gathered from observing Darcy and your knowledge of vibranium, not to mention what we learn from the alien ships..." She paused, her eyes watering. "I don't want to get anyone's hopes up but... maybe, just maybe we can bring her back," she finished in a whisper.

The taller woman smiled. "Of course, my friend. You will have everything you need."


	39. Chapter 39

_Wakanda_

Jane Foster moved her hands over the hologram, rotating the equipment before her and Princess Shuri. After a moment she stopped and they looked at each other with a nod.

"I think... I think that's everything," she said sounding a little dazed as she let her hands fall to her side.

 _Six months of constant work, sleepless nights, frustrated tears, and numerous setbacks... and they were finally ready._

"Except for one thing... the power source," reminded the Princess and Jane smiled.

"I've got something in mind."

Princess Shuri started to bounce on her toes excitedly, looking for once like the teenager she really was. "Can I do it? I just really want to say it..."

Jane smirked with a nod and Shuri grinned, making a small fist pump before pressing a button on her console.

"Avengers Assemble!"

* * *

 _The Himalayas,_ _Nepal_

The door slammed shut behind him, the hinges creaking even after due to the gusts of wind that beat against it. Some snow still swirled around the little room, melting as the flakes made contact with the floor. He dropped one of his bundles on the carpet, the metal containers clanging together as they shifted within. The other, heavier one he carried to the stove, removing each piece of wood from it before using the final two to start the fire anew.

He pushed the metal door to the small furnace closed once all the kindling had caught and started to unwrap the clothes from around his face, pausing only to click on the radio transceiver. The weather had cooperated until the past couple of hours but night was falling. He hoped the expeditions had reached their camp and wouldn't get into any trouble that required his help tonight. His suspicions were confirmed by the idle chatter over the wavelength and he bent to remove his boot when his hand froze at the lace, his ears picking up on a familiar sound in the distance.

Steve let out a gusty sigh and straightened, waiting as the sound got louder, and louder before finally cutting off just on the other side of the door.

"Telegram for one Steven Grant Rogers."

Steve opened the door and the Iron Man held out his palm. "That'll be an nickle."

Steve ignored it, instead stepping back to let him. Once fully inside the structure the metal armor opened, allowing Tony to step out, his black leather Tod's and modern suit looking quite out of place in the rustic hut.

"Coffee?" asked Steve, moving to place the metal carafe on the stove.

Tony shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "I've never been one to turn down a stimulant."

Steve started to prepare the coffee while Tony made a show of walking around the structure that was barely more than the square footage of one of his sport cars.

"I never took you for someone interested in glamping, Cap. I mean, a stove, a radio, and-" he toed the pallet on the floor, "whatever atrocity that is." He looked up. "You call this 'roughing it'?" he asked but there was a softness in his tone that Steve had just started to be able to pick up on. Tony was disturbed by what he saw. When Steve just poured the water instead of responding, Tony moved to be in his eye line to make himself even harder to ignore.

"You really enjoying playing 'Yeti' up here?"

"It's quiet," replied Steve pointedly but without any venom as he handed Tony a mug. He took it and sipped with a grimace.

"That is awful. Is coffee supposed to be chewy? I think it might be stuck in my teeth-"

"Tony," sighed Steve, "It's good to see you, it really is, but why are you here?"

Tony set down his mug, all pretense falling from his face. "Assemble order. Went out yesterday."

Steve's eyes narrowed. "From whom?

He watched with mounting trepidation as Tony seemed to shuffle on his feet... something Tony Stark did not do.

"Tony..."

"Dr. Foster called it."

Steve felt like the wind was knocked out of him. "Foster," he repeated tonelessly. "Why?"

"She has been in Wakanda since the... incident... using the data from her experiments and vibranium technology to try to find Darcy. She thinks she can create a door to the fifth dimension and if she is there, Darcy can find her way out. But it will require a lot of energy and tearing holes into dimensions may lead to some unforeseen complications so they thought it best that we were there."

He set down his mug, not realizing the force he was using and it shattered on the edge of the stove. "Six months? How could she still be alive?"

"If Darcy is there, then she is outside of space and time. She will not have aged, she will not have needed sustenance. She wouldn't even have a form. If she comes back, she should be the same as when she left. Literally, the exact same, physically, at least."

"Why wasn't I told?"

"Foster wasn't sure she could do it or how long it would take. I just found out when the order went out. "

Hope, that dangerous, unreliable thing started to swell within him and he tried to push it down, the frustration and anger of the last half year raging a war with it. He stepped away from Tony to hide the emotions he knew would be rippling across his face.

"What are the odds it will work?" he asked finally when he found he could speak again.

"Don't know. It's the first device of its kind, the amount of energy required to power it will likely damage it, making time between usages long due to need for repair. But, and it pains me to admit this and I'll deny it if anyone ever asks, this technology was developed by the only two people I've met that are smarter than I am, so I'm willing to put my faith in it that it will work and we'll get Lewis back." He stepped into his suit, the metal plates sliding over his body to reform the Iron Man. "So, are you coming? They want to do this as soon as possible."

In response, Steve reached behind the burlap bags that held his supplies and removed his shield, the firelight reflecting off the surface, and slid it over his forearm.

"So, am I just supposed to hold on to your foot the whole way?" he asked, gesturing to the suit.

"As much as that would amuse me, we have alternative travel arrangements," replied Tony. "Friday, let Dr. Strange know we are ready to be beamed up."

A sparkling golden circle expanded in the room and Tony flew through.

Steve hesitated. He was never one for superstitions but this felt like a good omen, seeing the same magic that had first delivered Darcy to him in Wakanda...

Maybe... this time... it would bring him to her.

* * *

Jane ran her diagnostics check once again as she worried her thumbnail.

"It'll be okay, Jane," reassured Banner as he tapped her tablet screen with his finger. "The math all works out. "

"I know, I just..."

"We will retrieve Lady Darcy today," said Thor as he clapped his hand over her wrist and gave her a reassuring squeeze. Wanda and Vision smiled at her as they moved back to join Clint and Natasha at the periphery.

"We are ready," said Shuri as she looked up from the medical cart and stretcher she had brought along. They all turned as voices approached the makeshift outdoor lab to see Dr. Strange leading Stark, Sam, Bucky, and ... Jane's stomach lurched, sending her nerves spiraling anew... Steve.

She hated not telling him but of everyone's disappointment, his was the one she did not think she could face. In the final weeks before Thanos, she and Darcy had not had a chance to really talk and though she was uncertain of exactly what Darcy and Steve had meant to one another, her loss seemed to have cleaved the man's already wounded spirit.

"I'm sorry!" she blurted, running up to him. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything."

He smiled a little sadly as way of forgiveness before gesturing to the monstrous collection of wires and metal behind her. "Do you think it will work?"

Jane nodded. "I think we can open a path to the fifth dimension, but the rest will be up to her."

"Can't one of us go in and get her?"

Jane shook her head. "No... I know its difficult to understand exactly what she is and where she is. We don't even have the correct language to explain it, not really. She is not in a formed state right now and nothing that is can enter that dimension. She's... something else entirely right now. I speculated before that she had the ability to move between our dimension and the fifth dimension at will but she's always relied on physical gestures to direct her abilities though there's no reason they would be required." Jane inhaled deeply. "So I think without her body, she's stuck, unable to get past the barrier of losing her physical form."

"And by giving her a door..."

"She can reenter our dimension where she can."

"Okay," he replied, looking uncertain. "Are we ready then?"

Jane nodded. "Yes."

He looked around. "Why are we outside?"

"Oh, that, well, this machine is going to need a massive amount of energy delivered rapidly so I thought Thor would be helpful, but he has a tendency to blast most structures to bits so we've moved out here to minimize the damage overall. We'll be behind one of Shuri's shields at the time but they'll come down as soon as Thor delivers the payload. We don't know what physical state Darcy may return in... she may even be injured from the War so we're set up to transport her immediately for care." Jane gestured to the equipment behind her.

Steve bit his lower lip and looked up at the starry sky. "She would have appreciated a night like this."

"Yeah, she would have."

"Even if this doesn't happen... Thank you, Jane. For not giving up on her."

Jane found she could only nod, her eyes watering and together they moved back to the lab as Thor took his position.

With a last diagnostic check, Jane gave him a thumbs up and Shuri activated the shields.

* * *

Steve watched as Thor raised his arm in the air and black clouds instantly formed above them, churning angrily. Sparking ribbons of blue traveled over his body, his eyes giving off an otherworldly glow as thunder rumbled overhead. The hair on his arms raised as Thor swung his extremity down, a great bolt of lightening erupting from the sky and Steve reflexively brought his hand up to shield his eyes from the blinding light.

"It's working!" shouted Jane as she eyed the specs the computer seemed to be spitting out at her in rapid fire and the machine started to whirl, an ominous low groaning sound. His breath caught as he saw it over the extended arm of the machine, the same shimmering undulation, the tell-tale mark of a portal... but this one seemed much more violent, the distortion blurring and smearing the structures behind it like paint being spread over a canvas.

"Jane?" he started to ask but it died on his lips, his jaw falling open as something... something... started to form underneath.

"It's not going to hold much longer!" he faintly heard Shuri shout over the groaning of the machine but his attention was elsewhere, watching as little by little, what had first appeared like dancing wisps of smoke solidified. Steve stepped forward, shrugging off the warning hand of Bucky.

"It's her," said Banner in disbelief as he pushed his glasses further up his nose.

She looked exactly as he remembered her that day, right down to the cut on her cheek that Hela had given her. The one that now dripped fresh blood. Her eyes opened and she took in a gasping breath and Steve knew something was wrong,

He let the shield in his hand drop to the ground as he ran, his arms sliding just under her arms just as she collapsed.

"Darcy?" he asked, one hand moving to position her chin to let her look at him. Her eyes, though open, were glassy and unfocused, and a sheen of sweat was starting to bead on her skin. He glanced down to see her normally crimson lips looking ashen and grey.

"Put her on the stretcher," barked Shuri as she appeared at his side and Steve did as she bid, Dr. Strange already reaching out to check her pulse.

"Weak and thready... and oddly bradycardic," he said meaningfully to Shuri who was typing rapidly on a side panel and he unzipped the sleeve on Darcy's arm, wrapping a tourniquet to insert an IV.

"Hypotensive and hypothermic as well," said the Princess as Darcy's vital signs were projected above them. "She's in shock but it appears to be from her autonomic system not being able to regulate itself."

"Agree," said Strange, "considering what she's been through, that seems far more likely than a spinal cord injury."

Shuri swiped through the display, nodding. "No disruptions in the spine are detected." She swiped again. "No internal injuries. No bleeding. Her heart's systolic and diastolic function are both within normal limits. " Her head turned to Strange. "Fluids, and a chronotrope with primary alpha agonist activity with DBS in the lab?"

"I concur, but atropine for now," he replied sliding the catheter into Darcy's arm. "That should temporize her until we can get her to your facility."

Shuri pulled a vial out the stretcher and passed it to Strange. "Atropine, half a milligram."

Steve just stood at Darcy's head, his fingers brushing against her cheek as her eyes continued to roll.

"Darcy, sweetheart, can you hear me?" He could feel his vision burning with unshed tears as she continued to be unresponsive. "Strange, what's happening?"

"Her autonomic nervous system, the one that controls our unconscious functions like breathing, heart rate, temperature control, is not working properly. We will need to stabilize her." The Doctor looked up at the vitals on display, appearing pleased as the heart rate picked up and Steve focused back to Darcy, releasing a relieved breath to see her actually looking at him.

"I know you," she whispered, her eyes flicking over his face, slightly wide with either wonder or disbelief, he wasn't sure.

It felt like the understatement of the year and Steve let out a choked laugh, letting his forehead fall forward to touch hers.

"Captain Rogers," said Shuri, gently but with urgency. "We have to move. She's going to be alright but she needs further attention that we cannot give out here."

Loathed to do so, he pulled back, letting his lips brush her brow.

"I'll be waiting," he said and stepped back, allowing Strange and Shuri to load her into the waiting transport.

"Come on," he heard Natasha say at his elbow and she jerked her head towards another vehicle not far away. "Our ride's over here."

Jane was already in the back, anxiously twisting her hands in one another. Steve reached out and clasped one, it squeezing gently. Jane let out a shuddered breath and twisted her wrist to hold his hand back. They remained like that for the rest of the ride to the compound and it occurred to Steve that this was the closest he had come to prayer in a great while.

They were the only two allowed back when they reached the medical ward.

"She is stable," said Strange," But it required sedation. We plan to wean the dose over the next few hours and if she tolerates it, we will continue until she wakes."

The Doctor then departed and Steve lifted a chair to one side of the bed for Jane before positioning himself in the other.

"She looks better, I think? Like she's getting some color. That's got to be a good sign, right?" asked Jane, peering at Darcy's immobile face.

"Yeah, I think so."

Jane sat back heavily in her chair. "If someone would have told me three years ago, this is where'd I'd be..." she murmured then scoffed a soft laugh. "If someone would have just told me she'd still be working with me, I'd never believed it." She glanced back up at Steve, smiling. "Did she tell you about the chicken incident?"

Steve blinked, a little startled by the change in conversation topic. "No, not that I recall."

"She had been my intern for about a week and we were out in some desert looking for anomalies," she said with a dismissive wave, "when Darcy comes up with this yellow chick that she just found, in the middle of the desert, no idea where it came from. Well, she won't let us leave it for obvious reasons. She says 'people keep birds as pets all the time. It'll be fine.' Of course, it craps all over the back of the van in five minutes flat and I drop her and the chicken off at her apartment. I go to pick her up for another assignment three days later and she's got this whole set up in her place now: a plastic container with wire over the top, a heat lamp, and now, not one but TWO chicks. 'Darcy,' I ask, "what the hell are you doing?' and she replies 'Did you know chickens need it to be like 90 degrees to survive? Yeah, I didn't either, hence the heat lamp. And apparently they get lonely, so I got it a friend to help it socialize.' She picks up the yellow chick. 'Jane, you already know this guy, whom I have dubbed 'Lucky Fucker' and this is Houdini.' But then she can't find the second chicken and we spend half the morning looking for it until we find it curled up along the back of her refrigerator. " She smiled to herself with the memory. "So needless to say, Lucky Fucker and Houdini were given away to good homes soon after. All I could think was that she was the most ridiculous person I had ever met and there was no way she would last with me. I was such an elitist asshole."

Steve met her self deprecating smile with one of his own. "She does have a way of sneaking up on a person. At first, she seems ordinary except you can't understand half of what she says then all of a sudden, its like a switch has been flipped and-"

"You're trying to figure out how you ever got along without her?" finished Jane knowingly.

"Yeah, pretty much."

They sat in companionable silence, waiting for any sign Darcy would wake until Jane started to nod off, catching herself before she pitched out of her chair.

"You okay there?" asked Steve.

"Yeah," she replied blinking at him through bleary eyes before straightening. "Lots of practice pulling all nighters. I'll be fine."

"You can get some sleep, I'll stay with her."

But Jane waved him off. "No, I can't leave. Not until I know she'll be alright."

Steve was struck by how much Jane and Darcy's friendship reminded him of himself and Bucky... the devotion of these seemingly opposite people. And that devotion had saved the Universe and brought her back.

"I'll go get us some coffee, okay?" he offered.

Jane nodded gratefully as he stood to leave.

* * *

Steve balanced the coffees in one hand as he opened Darcy's door... a stopped cold.

She was awake, curled on her side and speaking with Jane.

"So it took your science, Shuri's vibrainium technology, and Thor's lightening to bring me back?"

"And the equivalent of the GDP of a small country, but yeah."

"That's pretty dope."

"And worth every penny," spoke up Steve and both women looked up, Darcy's eyes brightening as they fell on him, at once both the same and different. The blue-green was familiar but now there was a weariness behind them, the mark of a soul far older than its vessel. He recognized it because he saw it every time he looked in the mirror.

Jane stood and snatched her coffee from his hands. "I'm going to go see what I can salvage of my equipment but I'll be back in the morning, okay Darce?"

Darcy smiled. "Yeah, Janey, see you then."

Jane squeezed Steve's forearm as she left and he felt frozen as he stared at Darcy, his mind not really believing what he was seeing. Emotional self preservation made him hesitant to embrace a personal victory, instead expecting it to be snatched away at any moment.

 _Losing Peggy just to get her back far too late to do anything but say goodbye._

 _Losing Bucky just to get him back damaged and broken._

 _Finding meaning with the Avengers only to have it all fall apart._

His inner turmoil must have shown on his face because she extended her hand to him. "Come here. There's something I need to tell you," she said shifting back on the bed.

He set the coffee down and took her hand, allowing her to pull him to sit beside her, the warmth of her seeping through the blankets to his skin.

Her eyes fell to their joined hands, to where he absently rubbed his thumb over the back of hers and her brow furrowed as she began to speak.

"Where I was... it's hard to explain... but I could see everything, every possible future that could happen after the moment I left and all at once. I saw some where I never returned, some where they weren't able to save me and I died-" he reflexively gripped her hand tighter and she smiled. "But in the ones where I lived, you were in almost everyone. I saw all of our possible lives."

Steve swallowed thickly and brought their combined hands up to kiss the back of hers. "Yeah? How do we do?"

"In a few, you leave, in others I do, but in most..." she sniffled and smiled at him, "we do pretty well."

"I'll take those odds," he replied, using his thumb to swipe away the tear that had fallen down her cheek and she let out a shuddered breath, looking at him with that same wonder he'd seen on her face before.

"I'm going to be so in love with you one day. Like ridiculously, stupidly in love."

He leaned over, pressing a soft kiss to her lips, certain that she already had catching up to do in that department.

"That sounds amazing."

 _Fin._

* * *

This has been so much fun and I am overwhelmed by how it has been received. I will likely do an epilogue but it won't be for a while and I won't guarantee it so we'll just say the story is complete for now. My goal was to get this done before IW release and I've made it just under the wire. Please share with others you think would enjoy it. I will be taking a break from Avengers fanfic for a bit but plan to finish my "Last Jedi" and start one for Voltron soon. As always, reviews are the fuel for authors and I've appreciated the time each of you have put into every one


End file.
